#CWC15: Australian pace attack proves too much for New Zealand in final

Joy Chakravarty 01:56 30/03/2015
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  • The game changer: Mitchell Starc celebrates after dismissing Brendon McCullum for a duck.

    Maintaining the tradition of World Cup finals being mostly one-sided affairs, Australia regained the crown they lost in 2011 with a dominant eight-wicket win over New Zealand.

    At a packed Melbourne Cricket Ground, New Zealand were never in the contest after losing captain Brendon McCullum in the first over of the match.

    The Kiwis won the toss and elected to bat, but except for the in-form Grant Elliott, none of their batsmen got in against a classy, efficient and aggressive Australian pace attack and folded for a paltry score of 183 in exactly 45 overs.

    It was the same score India made and defended successfully in the 1983 World Cup final, but despite dismissing Melbourne local Aaron Finch early, New Zealand never came close to conjuring a vision of repeating the feat of Kapil’s Devils.

    David Warner (45 in 46 balls, seven fours) and the in-form Steve Smith (56 not out off 71balls) added 62 runs for the second wicket. Australia were rarely in trouble as they overhauled the target in 33.1 overs to clinch the cup for the fifth time.

    Captain Michael Clarke, who was playing his last ODI having announced his retirement on Saturday, top-scored with 74 runs in 72 balls and put together 112 runs for the third wicket with Smith, who hit the winning run in the company of Shane Watson.

    New Zealand’s Plan A – of McCullum giving his side a slam-bang start and other batsmen then building on it – had worked so well during the tournament that they rarely had to fall back on a Plan B. But yesterday, once the captain departed early, they were like a rudderless boat in a maelstrom.Brendan McCullum trudges off following his dismissal.

    If they looked like a team without an alternate course of action, it was mainly because of the pressure created by the Australian left-arm pace bowlers.

    The swing of Mitchell Starc, later named the Man of the Tournament for his World Cuphigh haul of 22 wickets, the searing pace of Mitchell Johnson and the well-disguised slower balls of James Faulkner, was too much for the Kiwi batsmen to handle. Starc bowled a sensational first over to McCullum, which culminated with his wicket on the fifth ball.

    The Kiwi skipper, as he has done throughout the tournament, kept stepping out with aggressive intent, but Starc either followed him, or bowled yorkers. And the fifth ball was a classic, it dipped in with a hint of inswing, enough to beat McCullum’s hurried defensive offering, and shattering his stumps. That really was the turning point of the match.

    And when Martin Guptill was bowled off part-time spinner Glenn Maxwell, it was a case of him just feeling too relieved that the pressure of the fast bowlers was over.

    Johnson then removed dangerman Kane Williamson with a slower ball, the batsman checking his shot and offering the bowler a return catch. From 39-3 in the 12th over, semifinal hero Elliott (83 off 82b, seven fours and one six) and Ross Taylor (40 off 72 balls) got together and played sensible cricket to take the side to 150-3 in the 35th over, before Faulkner triggered carnage.

    His dismissal of Taylor, who edged a slower, back-of-the-hand delivery to wicketkeeper Brad Haddin, resulted in a collapse as seven wickets for just 33 runs in the next 10 overs.

    When Australia batted, they were helped by the fact that the significant swing movement generated by Starc and Josh Hazlewood was not evident in Trent Boult and Tim Southee’s efforts.

    And yet, when Warner deposited Matt Henry into the hands of Elliott in deep square leg – which was reckless as the fielder was moved there after he had played a similar shot for a boundary the previous delivery – Australia were 60-2 and the anxieties of chasing a small target were becoming apparent.

    But this was always going to be Clarke’s day. It was almost written in the stars. The captain walked out and played a knock that was a textbook effort in such a situation. He was careful to begin with, and then let loose a flurry of shots before falling when in sight of the finishing line.

    It was the perfect way to go. He soaked in the adulation of the crowd with his bat in his hand, and then moments later, was doing it all over again, but this time with the gleaming World Cup in hand and a cheque of $3.75 million in his pocket.

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