KEY POINTS:
New Zealand's top order failed to fire yet again as Australia moved into the final of the Champions Trophy cricket tournament with a 34-run victory in Mohali, India, today.
Players such as captain Stephen Fleming and Nathan Astle, who had propped up the Black Caps on the way
to the last four, were dismissed cheaply.
And it was left to No 8 Daniel Vettori, who topscored with 79, and No 5 Jacob Oram, with 43, to give the New Zealand score some respectability.
Their record 103 partnership off 126 balls for the seventh wicket bettered New Zealand's previous best effort of 89 runs between Chris Harris and Dion Nash against Australia in Auckland in 1988.
However, the top of the order read Lou Vincent 1, Fleming 15, Astle 0, Hamish Marshall 2 and Peter Fulton 2.
With Scott Styris out injured, Marshall was included. He had scored 4 and 1 in his previous two innings at the tournament.
Vincent, Fulton and Marshall had totalled just 47 among them in seven innings entering the match.
Vincent had scored 3, 13 and 17 in his previous three games at the tournament.
Fleming won the toss and sent Australia in, hoping to make another fightback as they did in hauling in the world champions' 331 last December.
They did put on a brave attack at times, with Kyle Mills taking four for 38 including two for four at one stage, but Australia's 240 for nine off their 50 overs proved too much. New Zealand were bowled out for 206 in 47 overs.
Fleming said after New Zealand claimed early wickets in Australia's innings, the momentum turned.
"We just weren't good enough with the bat," he said.
"We did some good bowling but we (top order) were just not good enough to give the guys a platform."
All-rounder Andrew Symonds led the Australians with a run-a-ball 58 and then took the vital wicket of Oram (43) before they dousing the Black Caps' fightback at 206 in 46 overs.
Australia had failed to go beyond the semifinal in their previous two attempts in the Champions Trophy. They will now play the final at Mumbai on Sunday against the winner of the second semifinal between the West Indies and South Africa tomorrow.
Fast bowler Glenn McGrath's (3-22) superb spell of unchanged 10 overs reduced New Zealand to 35 for six in the 15th over before Oram and top-scorer Vettori made a remarkable turnaround with their record-breaking partnership.
"It would have been a miracle had they won," Australian captain Ricky Ponting said.
"It's very pleasing to finally cross the hurdle and play the final."
Adam Gilchrist brilliantly stumped Oram off Symonds in the 36th over that opened up New Zealand's tail end and despite a late assault by the last wicket pair of Kyle Mills and Shane Bond, the Black caps fell short of the target.
New Zealand could have been 47 for seven, but Michael Hussey dropped a sitter in the slips when Vettori was on five as both the left-handers took charge once McGrath was out of the attack.
McGrath had the wickets of Vincent, Marshall and Fulton while Fleming and Brendon McCullum (1) fell to Nathan Bracken (2-36) in quick succession before Vettori and Oram came together.
"We were outskilled at the top of the order, they just knocked us over," Fleming said.
"We knew the first 15 overs would be difficult but our batting was very poor."
Captain Ricky Ponting and Symonds earlier compiled identical scores of 58 runs each and were ably supported by Hussey (35) after Australia cheaply lost opening batsmen Watson and Adam Gilchrist to fast bowler Mills.
Mills gave New Zealand a dream start with two wickets in four deliveries after Fleming won the toss and chose to field first on a hard and bouncy Punjab Cricket Association Stadium wicket.
The right arm fast bowler returned for his second spell and removed Ponting and Michael Clarke (14) to finish with fine figures of four for 38 off his sharp 10 overs.
Mills got an appreciable movement off the seam on the same wicket where Pakistan caved in for just 89 runs against South Africa last Friday. He struck in his second over and removed Watson and Gilchrist in four deliveries.
Bond also tested Damien Martyn and Ponting with some sharp deliveries and beat the bat on number of occasions before the batsmen combined for 66 runs and rebuilt the innings.
Left-arm spinner Vettori trapped Martyn lbw in his opening spell, but Hussey shared a 53-run partnership with Ponting off 57 deliveries and upped the tempo of the innings, adding another 65 runs off 67 balls with Symonds.
Ponting, who posted his 55th limited-overs half century, faced 80 balls with eight boundaries but soon perished when Mills returned for his second spell. Vettori once again took a fine catch when the Australian skipper misread Mills' slower delivery and lobbed a catch at mid-on.
Bond clean bowled Symonds and Brett Lee in his return spell as Australia could muster only 52 runs in the last 10 overs.
SCORECARD
Australia
A Gilchrist c Oram b Mills 3
S Watson c Fulton b Mills 0
R Ponting c Vettori b Mills 58
D Martyn lbw b Vettori 26
M Hussey c Marshall b Franklin 35
A Symonds b Bond 58
M Clarke c Vettori b Mills 14
B Lee b Bond 5
M Johnson run out 3
N Bracken not out 15
G McGrath not out 0
Extras: (lb6, nb3, w14) 23
Total (for 9wkts, 50 overs) 240
Fall:: 1-3 (Watson), 2-4 (Gilchrist), 3-70 (Martyn), 4-123 (Ponting), 5-188 (Hussey), 6-211 (Symonds), 7-220 (Clarke), 8-223 (Lee), 9-236 (Johnson)
Bowling: Mills 10-1-38-4 (1w), Bond 10-0-55-2 (10w), Franklin 8-1-48-1 (2nb, 3w), Oram 10-1-43-0 (1nb), Vettori 10-0-41-1, Astle 2-0-9-0
New Zealand
L Vincent c Ponting b McGrath 1
S Fleming c Ponting b Bracken 15
N Astle b Lee 0
H Marshall c Gilchrist b McGrath 5
PFulton b McGrath 2
J Oram st Gilchrist b Symonds 43
B McCullum c Martyn b Bracken 1
D Vettori b Johnson 79
JFranklin c Gilchrist b Watson 8
K. Mills c Gilchrist b Lee 21
S Bond not out 9
Extras: (7lb, 2nb, 13w) 22
Total (46 overs) 206
Fall: 1-16 (Vincent), 2-20 (Astle), 3-30 (Marshall), 4-30 (Fleming), 5-34 (Fulton), 6-35 (McCullum), 7-138 (Oram), 8-159 (Franklin), 9-180 (Vettori).
Bowling: Lee 8-0-31-2 (1nb, 6w), McGrath 10-2-22-3 (2w), Bracken 7-1-36-2 (3w), Johnson 7-0-38-1 (1nb, 2w), Watson 7-0-27-1, Symonds 7-0-45-1
Result: Australia won by 34 runs
Toss: New Zealand
- NZPA