They came here as the defending champions but went out defenseless. Having been the first team to arrive in Sri Lanka for the Champions Trophy, New Zealand, winner of the ICC Knockout held at Nairobi in 2000, were the one team with the most time to acclimatize to the altogether humid Lankan weather. On Sunday though, the thunder was all with the Australians as they recorded a 164-run win over their neighbours to avenge their losses at home when the two teams last clashed.

Australia’s domination was clear from the moment their skipper Ricky Ponting won the toss and elected to bat. Openers Adam Gilchrist and Mathew Hayden simply tore into the Kiwi bowling, taking it apart with a series of breathtaking shots. Only one man commanded respect and most ironically it was a spinner. Left-armer Daniel Vettori (one for 25 off 10) was outstanding and it was his spell that kept the Aussies from going on to a total well over 300.

The Australians still got to 296 though, a target that proved way too much for Stephen Fleming’s men. Fleming had indicated in the morning that he might just have been inclined to bowl first if he had won the toss if only to put off facing the likes of Glenn McGrath, Brett Lee and Jason Gillespie. Well, his team had to come out and face the music sometime and when they did, boy, did they get rocked!

A five-wicket haul doesn’t come too often in the limited overs game and very few people have claimed beyond 250 wickets in the game’s history. McGrath achieved both on the day, his final wicket of a 5 for 37 spell, getting him into an elite club that only the other day welcomed South Africa’s Allan Donald as its ninth member.

The tall Aussie didn’t do anything special. He stuck to the basics of line and length and the pitch at the SSC did the rest. On hand to help McGrath in his quest were the New Zealand batsmen, who simply couldn’t get their pad or bat out of the way. Further support came via the express pace of Brett Lee, who complemented his senior partner with a three-wicket haul of his own.

Gillespie and Shane Warne chipped in with a wicket apiece to complete Australia’s biggest win over New Zealand. Of course, the margin would have been far bigger but for the 50-run last-wicket association between Shane Bond and Kyle Mills, who took New Zealand from 82 for 9 to 132.

Bond certainly would have been better off had he contributed more with the ball. He did start well with an impressive first over but that was it. Gilchrist was in a spot of bother in that over but from the next one onwards, it was the Australians who called the shots, except for the period in which Vettori operated.

Batsman after batsman came in, played shots at will and then made way for the others to do their bit. It was as if the Aussies had decided that they all had to play a part in this match, that all of them had to get amongst the Kiwis and show them who was boss. In the bargain, even as the run-making went on and on, only Damien Martyn (73) got past the half-century mark. Forties for Glichrist and Hayden and thirties for Ponting and Darren Lehmann tell the story.

For the Aussies this was their first win in the ‘Mini World Cup’ arena. They will take on the Sri Lankans in the semifinal after completing the formalities against Bangladesh.

Statistical Highlights:
---By Daniel Puran Singh

• Australia and New Zealand played against each other for the 85th time in ODIs.
• The elegant Damien Martyn, with this innings of 73 registered his 12th half-century in his 103rd ODI.
• Shane Warne was dismissed for zero for the ninth time in his ODI career.
• Australia's 296 for is now its highest score against New Zealand on a neutral venue in ODIs.
• New Zealand's opening batsman Nathan Astle recorded his 10th naught in ODIs. He is only the second Kiwi batsman to make 10 or more ducks. Adam Parore with 19 holds the unenviable first position.
• Lou Vincent and Daryl Tuffey registered their second and fourth zero respectively.
• When Aussie paceman Glenn McGrath dismissed Jacob Oram, he became the 10th bowler and only the second Australian after Shane Warne (283) to achieve this landmark in ODIs.
• This also presented the 6th instance of McGrath taking five or more wickets in an innings and his first against the Kiwis.
• The 5-37 also was the 31st instance of an Australian bowler bagging a five-wicket haul.
• The last wicket partnership of 50 in this match between Kyle Mills and Shane Bond is the best ever against the Aussies. They put to shade the previous best of 33 by Chris Harris and Shayne O'Connor made in the 1997/98 season.
• New Zealand's number eleven batsman Shane Bond with 26 top-scored in the innings. This rare occurrence has only happened thrice before. He joins countryman Chris Pringle as the second New Zealander to perform this feat.
• With this 164-run win Australia have recorded biggest run-margin victory against the New Zealanders.
• New Zealand's 132 all out is their lowest total on neutral soil against the Aussies.
• Australia have now registered their 294th in all ODIs and 57th win over the Trans-Tasman rivals.