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1st Final
Australia won the toss and chose to bat, and after a bright start from the openers things went terribly wrong. The spinners, Vettori and Patel, were seemingly almost impossible to score off and shared six wickets between them as the home side collapsed to a point at which even 200 seemed a long way off. But a superbly-timed 47* from Katich put things back on track, and with 15 runs coming from the last over he guided his side past 200 and to respectability.
In response, Spearman started in sensational style. Blazing his way to 68 from just 53 balls, he looked to be putting his side on track for a massive win in the first game of the best-of-3 series. But, like in the Australian innings, everything went wrong. A huge collapse followed after his dismissal, and suddenly it was Australia heading for a big win.
Vettori to the rescue, again. Sharing in big partnerships with Oram (38) and Patel (24), Vettori brought New Zealand to the brink of a fantastic victory. Just four runs were needed from three overs, with two wickets to spare. But then...disaster! Brett Lee took wickets in successive deliveries, and for the second time in the tour NZ had been defeated in a crucial match by less than 5 runs.
Australia 210-9
Hayden 62
Katich 47*
Vettori 4-29
Patel 2-23
New Zealand 207
Spearman 68
Oram 38
Watson 3-43
Lee 3-55
Australia won by 3 runs.
MOTM: Vettori (4-29 & 34*)
*sigh*
Australia won the toss and chose to bat, and after a bright start from the openers things went terribly wrong. The spinners, Vettori and Patel, were seemingly almost impossible to score off and shared six wickets between them as the home side collapsed to a point at which even 200 seemed a long way off. But a superbly-timed 47* from Katich put things back on track, and with 15 runs coming from the last over he guided his side past 200 and to respectability.
In response, Spearman started in sensational style. Blazing his way to 68 from just 53 balls, he looked to be putting his side on track for a massive win in the first game of the best-of-3 series. But, like in the Australian innings, everything went wrong. A huge collapse followed after his dismissal, and suddenly it was Australia heading for a big win.
Vettori to the rescue, again. Sharing in big partnerships with Oram (38) and Patel (24), Vettori brought New Zealand to the brink of a fantastic victory. Just four runs were needed from three overs, with two wickets to spare. But then...disaster! Brett Lee took wickets in successive deliveries, and for the second time in the tour NZ had been defeated in a crucial match by less than 5 runs.
Australia 210-9
Hayden 62
Katich 47*
Vettori 4-29
Patel 2-23
New Zealand 207
Spearman 68
Oram 38
Watson 3-43
Lee 3-55
Australia won by 3 runs.
MOTM: Vettori (4-29 & 34*)
*sigh*