Kiwis hit back after starting trouble

Restricted to 200 for nine in the final by Aussie pacers,bowlers strike early to keep New Zealand in title hunt....

Crippled by Daniel Vettoris hamstring strain,New Zealand limped to 200 in the Champions Trophy final against Australia. Vettori became the fourth vital Kiwi player besides Jacob Oram,Jesse Ryder and Daryl Tuffey to be struck down by injury in the tournament.

And,keeping in mind the New Zealand skippers all-round show,his indisposition was a triple blow to his team. The team werent just missing the services of their inspirational leader but a match-winning bowler and batsman too. World crickets likeable underdogs were in a hole even before the toss. And with their opponents being the Aussies,who had recently rediscovered their winning touch and seemed to be jumping out their skins to reach the finish line,it seemed an uneven contest.

But as is expected of the Black Cups,who dont carry a white flag in their team kit,they dragged along. Even when they were on the ropes after a barrage of short balls and toe-crushing yorkers,they didnt collapse. With the score reading 94 for five at about the halfway stage,reaching 200 seemed a distant dream. But the lower-order consisting of bits-and-pieces all-rounders and genuine tailenders stood up against the hostile Aussie pacers to survive 50 overs and take the score to some sort of respectability.

Shane Bond,who remained unbeaten having negotiated the short-pitched stuff,then came back to return the favour. An away moving ball had Aussie opener Tim Paine caught in slips. Soon,a fired up Kyle Mills complemented Bond by having the in-form Aussie skipper Ricky Ponting lbw for 1. With the final stretch in sight,the Kiwis had taken a few giant strides.

At the time of going to print,the Aussies were dragging along at 56 for 2 in 20 overs,with Shane Watson on 32 and Cameron White on 19.

This was a trend that followed all through the tournament. Just after they put up a great show in the previous match,the likes of Ryder,Tuffey and Vettori had to sit out for the next.

The New Zealand batting on Monday had a similar theme. The unexpected sight of Brendon McCullum going for the toss was followed by a spate of early Kiwi wickets. Except for Martin Guptill 40,and to some extent Aaron Redmond 26,no top batsman reached double figures.

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With half the team back by the 27th over,Neil Broom and James Franklyn plugged the leak. At the end of 37 overs,Broom and Franklyn were still around and thats why the Kiwis opted to take the batting powerplay. A couple of big overs saw the run-rate finally rising and a reasonably score in sight.

In the 41st over,Broom danced down the track and hit Shane Watson over his head for a four. This was followed by a slower ball that Broom played to the point. But some miscommunication with Franklyn saw him get run out. Fate had intervened again and the vital partnership was over,with New Zealand on 159 for six.

Thats when the later order batsmen chipped in. It was a four of the last ball by Jeetan Patel that saw New Zealand reach 200. Patel had come in the side as Vettoris replacement and he had done his bit with his bat as he remained not out for 17.