The Hindu : Sport / Cricket : Australia in final

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Friday, Nov 03, 2006
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Australia in final

G. Viswanath

Mohali: Australia needed all its fighting qualities and some luck to get the better of its unflagging Tasman rival, New Zealand, and reach the final of the Champions Trophy tournament for the first time, here on Wednesday.

The left-handed pair of Jacob Oram and Daniel Vettori gave the Aussies the jitters after Kyle Mills had scalped four wickets to restrict Australia to 240 when it batted.

It was virtually a procession to the dressing room before all-rounder Oram and specialist left-arm spinner Vettori joined forces for the seventh wicket with only 35 runs on the board. Oram and Vettori defied the Australians for nearly two hours before Adam Gilchrist whipped off the bails to catch an off-balance Oram with his rear foot not grounded inside the batting crease.

Oram's dismissal was a big blow to New Zealand's hopes of upsetting Australia's applecart. Eventually it was a gallant loser by 34 runs.

Glenn McGrath (Man-of-the-Match) was the chief tormentor, taking three important wickets with support from Nathan Bracken and Brett Lee.

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