New Zealand vs Australia: The Black Caps will race against Australia for the top of the table.New Zealand vs Australia Highlights: Australia defeated New Zealand by 86 runs at Lord’s at London after a Mitchell Starc masterclass, who claimed five wickets. Henry Nicholls was out after a tentative 8 as New Zealand’s opening woes in the World Cup continued. Martin Guptill (20) looked good but was caught lbw by Behrendorff soon after. Kane Williamson (40) and Taylor then combined to steady the innings before Starc induced an edge off Williamson’s bat. Ross Taylor (30) then skied a delivery that was caught by the keeper as the Kiwis lost way. After that, wickets started to fall left, right and centre as Starc bagged five, Behrendorff bagged two and Lyon, Smith and Cummins bagged one each. New Zealand were ultimately restricted on 157 all out after 43.4 overs.
Earlier, Australia posted 243/9 in 50 overs. Usman Khawaja played a patient knock of 88 for Australia after a top order collapse. Aaron Finch (8) was caught lbw by Trent Boult early on. David Warner (16) then was cleaned up by Lockie Ferguson with his first ball of the day to leave Australia struggling early on. Steve Smith (5) was then sent back to the pavilion courtesy a stunning diving catch by Martin Guptill as Australia found themselves in crisis at 46/3. Marcus Stoinis stuck around for a while, building a partnership with Khawaja, but he was caught behind on 21. Glenn Maxwell (1) also departed soon after, leaving Australia looking down the barrell at 92/5. Alex Carey (71) then came up with a sensational knock as he added more than 100 runs with Khawaja and stabilized the innings. Khawaja failed to kick on after Carey’s wicket but the headlines were stolen by a last over hat-trick by Trent Boult (4/51).
Australia top of the table
AND THAT'S IT!
Australia defeat New Zealand by 86 runs, as Mitchell Starc bags five wickets! Santner was the last one to go off. NZ 157 all out. New Zealand's hope for World Cup semi-finals still hang in balance.
SIX! FOUR!
It has been such a poor batting performance from New Zealand that the second six of the innings is worthy of an update. Mitchell Santner goes for the big one. Nathan Lyon must have not read the script. Another four runs. Still, New Zealand need 87 runs in 43 balls. NZ are 157/9 after 43 overs.
Critics for the Black Caps
BOWLED HIM!
FOURTH OF THE INNINGS! Mitchell Starc gets his fellow pacer Lockie Ferguson out! He is on a hattrick now! NZ are 144/9 after 41.1 overs.
DISMISSED!
LBW! Reviewed and umpire's call is retained. Mitchell Starc is unstoppable in this World Cup as he bags his third of the innings. Ish Sodhi walks off after hitting a welcome boundary, yet to no effect. New Zealand need 103 runs in 60 balls now. NZ are 141/8 after 40 overs.
WICKET!
CAUGHT AND BOWLED! Nathan Lyon gets one as he dismisses James Neesham. NZ are 131/7 after 38.1 overs.
Starc keeps his teeth in
Bowling at an average speed of 150 kmph, Mitchell Starc has kept the New Zealand batsmen on the backfoot. He has conceded just three runs in his last two overs, claiming Tom Latham's wicket. Neesham and Santner need to figure out something and soon. New Zealand need 113 runs in 72 balls now. NZ are 131/6 from 38 overs.
WICKET!
CAUGHT! Steve Smith channelises his inner Martin Guptill and gets a one-handed catch to dismiss Tom Latham. Mitchell Starc gets another. NZ are 125/6 after 35.3 overs.
NZ in deep trouble
Losing wickets, unable to score runs, the Balck Caps look like they are out of ideas right now. Just the six runs from the last three overs. They now need 120 runs from 90 balls to win the match. NZ are 124/5 after 35 overs.
WICKET!
CAUGHT! Steve Smith forces Colin de Grandhomme to walk back after a golden duck. Usman Khawaja caught the rashly hit ball. Australia fans are singing in full voice now. NZ are 118/5 after 32.1 overs.
DISMISSED!
CAUGHT BEHIND! Ross Taylor hits it recklessly high up in the air and is safely collected by Alex Carey. Cummins gets his first wicket of the match. NZ are 118/4 after 31.4 overs.
Required runrate on the rise
Scoring just four runs from the last three overs, New Zealand look out of ideas against the Australian bowling attack now. The trio of Cummins, Lyon and Starc are well in control of their game now. The asking runrate is now up to 6.80. NZ are 108/3 after 30 overs.
Hundred comes up
After a shaky start and losing their captain, New Zealand have finally brought their hundred up through a Taylor single off Lyon. Five runs from the over. NZ are 103/3 after 27 overs.
WILLIAMSON OUT!
CAUGHT BEHIND! Starc comes back and gets Williamson dismissed who leaves after scoring 40 from 51 balls. The Black Caps are in trouble. NZ are 97/3 after 25.4 overs.
Fifty-run partnership
After a well-controlled partnership between Williamson and Taylor, they have brought a 50-run partnership between them. A four and a six for Williamson to Maxwell and Stoinis. NZ are 92/2 after 25 overs.
A boundary at long last
FOUR! The exaggeration and surprise is justified as Ross Taylor's hit to backward square leg is New Zealand's first boundary since the 12th over! Aaron Finch still disappointed. NZ are 68/2 after 21 overs.
Singles galore
Just singles and wides at the Lord's right now as the sun sets over the horizon. Williamson and Taylor quite happy to face the storm timidly until they are quite settled to take on the Australian quicks. NZ are 61/2 after 20 overs.
New Zealand taking it slow
Seven runs in last four overs. One wicket. New Zealand need the partnership of Williamson and Taylor to stick right now. Australia are well in control. NZ are 47/2 after 16 overs.
Australia keeps the pressure on
After losing two quick wickets, Nathan Lyon continues the Australian bowling attack. Kane Williamson is very wary of the spin attack, yet falls in his trap as he edges a shot. Luckily, he is dropped at the slip by Steve Smith, and the Black Caps let out a sigh of relief. NZ are 46/2 after 15 overs.
Guptill is out
Behrendorff strikes! Gets an inswinger to rap Guptill on the pads. That stayed low and swerved away from Guptill's bat arc. New Zealand lose their second wicket. After just two runs of the over, NZ are 44/2 after 14 overs.
Williamson taking charge
After scoring just four runs in the last three overs, New Zealand are getting back some of their footing in the game as Williamson hit Behrendorff for a boundary in the first ball itself. Seven runs from that over. NZ 40/1 after 12 overs.
First wicket
Australia strike! New Zealand lose their first wicket and Kane Williamson comes out to join Guptill
NZ 29/1 after 9.2 overs
NZ see off the new ball
Guptill and Nicholls have fared much better than how the Australian openers fared. They have also fared much better than how the English top order fared against Australia. They have set up a sizable platform now. Up to Kane and his boys to carry on in this vein.
Nicholls gets off the mark
Henry Nicholls gets off the mark in the sixth over, but what a shot to get off the mark with. Slams Mitchell Starc for four runs down the ground. Follows it up with a back foot flick of the wrist. Consecutive boundaries!
First four
Guptill hits the first boundary of the innings. Behrendorff the bowler. Guptill looking good.
Meanwhile, the Pakistan-Afghanistan match is nearing a tense climax. Some fans in the stands being seen having their phones stuck to their ears. They might have come to watch this Australia-New Zealand match, but all the attention is on the Pakistan match at the moment. 6 needed in the last over there.
New Zealand off to watchful start
Martin Guptill and Henry Nicholls are opening the Black Caps innings today. Nicholls, brought into the side in Munro's stead, has played out five dot balls in the first over from Behrendorff. Starc and Behrendorff, the new ball pair that broke England's backbone in their last match, are now steaming in against the Kiwis.
And here's how the hat-trick panned out
Hat-trick
Boult picks up a hat-trick! The 11th in World Cup history and the first time ever for a New Zealand bowler! Bowled three yorkers, got three wickets! What a last over this was! Australia finish at 243/9. New Zealand need 244 to win.
Bowled! Boult on a hat-trick
Starc is bowled out by another yorker! Picture perfect! That's a dose of his own medicine for Starc. Golden duck for him today. And he's got it! Or has he? Australia have reviewed. This is a long long wait! And it's been given!
Khawaja is out
Bowled him! Khawaja stepped to his left and left the stumps open. Boult came up with a perfect yorker. Very important knock from Khawaja but you sense he was getting frustrated towards the end. Falls short of his 100, but can Australia get to 250?
Khawaja misses
Khawaja has failed to kick on. Australia would have wanted him to do a little better at this stage. He has been mostly hitting and missing in these last few overs. Finally connects with one, but that rolls away to Ish Sodhi for a single. Cummins plays the role of the finisher much better. Slams the last ball of the 49th over for a four. Last over coming up. Khawaja on 87. Australia on 241/6.
Cummins has pressed the Go button
Cummins is throwing his bat at everything! The ball is flying off into the air left and right. Miraculously, none of them are finding their way to fielders' hands. Three consecutive twos.
Meanwhile, Pakistan have just lost their 5th wicket and are floundering in their chase against Afghanistan. England fans are breathing a little easy. This World Cup is alive!
The Khawaja plan
New Zealand's gameplan at the moment seems be to keep Khawaja off strike as much as they can. He has been out there for 120 balls, must be seeing the ball like a basketball. Can Khawaja bring up his 100? Can he take the Aussie score to 250? Last four overs to go.
Khawaja looks to finish big
Khawaja, after having hit two fours through the entire duration of his innings, has just hit two fours in three balls. Looking to kick on a gear or two.
Cummins has joined Khawaja in the middle. In ODIs, Starc scores at a strike rate of 88.85 while Cummins scores at 69.12. Might make better sense in promoting Starc, in some situations at least.
Carey is out!
Carey, after that special innings, is out! After a priceless 71. Guess who takes the wicket? Who but Kane Williamson.
100-run stand
Australia have been playing at almost 6 runs per over in the last few overs. Khawaja and Carey bring up 100 runs between them. What a vital stand this has been from the two of them. This is the highest 6th wicket partnership for Australia in World Cups. After that top order collapse, if there was one miracle Australia needed, it was this - their No. 7 having a special day!
We are into the final 10 overs of the innings. How much can the Aussies target from here? 250? If Carey can kick on into another gear from here, 275 might be what they could aim for.
The Carey show
Bevan? Dhoni? Maxwell? Nope! This is the Alex Carey show! He has caught up with Khawaja's score, having played around 40 balls less than him, and is looking to propel this Aussie total to well above 250. He is now averaging over 70 and striking at 114 for the tournament. What a World Cup campaign this man has been having! Has gone a bit under the radar because of the top order show.
Carey and Khawaja giving Aus hope
Both Carey and Khawaja have reached their 50s now. Contrasting approaches from the two of them though. Carey has a strike rate of 108. Khawaja has a strike rate of 68. 250 the target now for the Aussies?
Crucial fifty from Carey
HALF-CENTURY! From 47 balls, Alex Carey has got his third ODI fifty whilst rescuing the Aussies. Slowly and slowly. AUS 168/5 in 35.4 overs.