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 Guwahati, Nov 9:
Australia gave another demonstration of their cricketing might as
the world champions relied on some disciplined bowling to fashion a
44-run victory against New Zealand in the TVS Cup triangular series
match here today. Chasing a modest target of 226 for victory, New
Zealand could never really find their bearings after a top-order
collapse to fold up for 181 in 45.3 overs and give the Aussies their
fourth consecutive victory in the series.
The Black Caps, who
desperately needed a win to bolster their chances of making it to
the final, enjoyed an upper hand in the early stages of the contest
by reducing the Aussies to one for four but the world champions
fought their way out with characteristic grit to maintain their
supremacy over their trans-Tasman rivals. The Aussies, who have
already assured themselves of a berth for the November 18 final in
Kolkata, widened the lead atop the points table with 23 points from
five outings.
New Zealand, who
managed to gain a bonus point today, climbed to the second position
on the table with ten points from five matches. The Kiwis will now
have to battle it out for the other finalist's spot with India who
have nine points from four outings. Put in to bat, Australia
weathered an early storm to post a modest 225 for seven, mainly
built around a resolute unbeaten 84 by Michael Bevan. Skipper Ricky
Ponting was the other notable contributor with an 84-ball 52.
 The Kiwis' run
chase began on a disastrous note as they lost opener Chris Nevin
when the score was on seven and could not really recover from the
early jolt as wickets kept tumbling at regular intervals. Speedster
Nathan Bracken, who has been quite impressive right through the
series, put the world champions in control by getting rid of Nevin
with a gem of a delivery which saw Ponting taking a smart catch in
second slip.
Captain Stephen
Fleming and Lou Vincent tried to steady the ship by negotiating the
two Aussie new ball operators Bracken and Michael Kasprovicz without
taking too many risks. Fleming executed some glorious shots picking
up Bracken for some special treatment by clobbering him for two
consecutive boundaries. The second wicket pair put on 31 runs before
Bracken struck again by evicting Vincent who has been struggling
with the bat right through the triangular series.
The right-handed
Vincent was foxed by a slower delivery by Bracken as he attempted to
play on the leg side and Brad Hogg gleefully held on to a simple
catch at point. A big blow awaited the Black Caps six overs later
when captain Fleming was deceived by a slower ball by Ian Harvey,
much to the jubilation of his teammates. Fleming, who appeared quite
comfortable in the middle, failed to read the slower delivery and
offered a simple return catch to the bowler. His 46-ball 29
contained four boundaries. The dismissal of Fleming triggered off a
collapse as Craig McMillan (0) and Jacob Oram (14) returned to the
pavilion in quick succession.
Speedster Andy
Bichel, who was introduced into the attack in the 13th over,
accounted for the hard-hitting McMillan who had guided New Zealand
to a stunning four-wicket victory with an unbeaten 82 against India
in the last match in Cuttack. McMillan was a trifle unlucky to be
given out by umpire K Hariharan as the ball appeared to hit his pad
before sailing into the hands of Jimmy Maher behind the stumps. Left
arm spinner Brad Hogg then compounded New Zealand's misery by
plotting the dismissal of the lanky Jacob Oram to leave the Kiwis
tottering at 88 for five in the 22nd over. Hogg found success in his
very first over as he trapped Oram plump in front of the wicket with
a flipper, allowing the Aussies to tighten the noose around their
rivals.
 The experienced
Scott Styris and Chris Harris then made a valiant effort to put the
innings back on track in the face of some tight and disciplined
bowling by the Aussies. The sixth wicket pair raised hopes of a
spirited fight back by stitching 55 runs before Hogg broke the
partnership by sending Styris (54) back to the dressing room with
Ponting taking the catch at short mid-wicket. Earlier, the famed
Australian batting line-up, without the services of Adam Gilchrist
and Mathew Hayden who were rested for this match, did reasonably
well to recover from the early jolts to post 225 for seven in their
allotted 50 overs.
The Kiwi seamers
Daryl Tuffey and Kyle Mills struck early blows to have Australia on
the mat at 61 for four after Fleming made the right call at the toss
and elected to field. But saving the champion side from further
trouble was the duo of Bevan (84 not out) and Rickey Ponting (52)
who stitched an invaluable 78-run partnership for the fifth wicket
on a pitch which offered a fair amount of help to the seamers
initially as it has been the trend in the day matches played so far
in the tri-series. However, some disciplined bowling and neat
fielding did not allow the Australians to consolidate and post a
bigger total in what was an inconsequential match for them.
Left-arm spinner
Daniel Vettori extracted some turn from the wicket and got rid of
Ponting and Clarke within a space of two runs at a crucial stage to
reduce the Aussies to 141 for six in the 34th over. He returned the
most impressive figures of 2 for 20 off his ten overs. Scorecard
(Agencies)
Published: Sunday,
November 09, 2003
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