Hometown favourite Brad Hodge smashed an unbeaten 99 off 86 balls and captain Ricky Ponting marked his return with a century to lead Australia to a five-wicket win over New Zealand in a tri-series limited-overs match Sunday.Australia reached the winning target of 291 runs for the loss of five wickets with 10 balls in reserve when Hodge drove Mark Gillespie through backward point for two at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, just one run short of what would have been his maiden century.New Zealand’s 290-7 looked well out of reach after 30 overs of Australia’s innings with eight runs an over needed for the win. But Ponting (104), who missed Friday’s loss to England through injury, and Hodge put on a 154-run third-wicket stand to hand the Kiwis their 19th loss in 21 matches against Australia.The result means the winner of Tuesday’s match between New Zealand and England at Brisbane will play Australia in the finals series beginning Friday in Melbourne.Australia’s chase was the third-highest successful pursuit in Australia, behind only the 303-9 Sri Lanka scored in 1998-99 to beat England and the 297-6 that New Zealand made in 1982-83 to beat England.Australia will have to play the finals without allrounder Andrew Symonds, whose World Cup prospects are in doubt because of a ruptured biceps tendon. Symonds underwent surgery Sunday to reattach the tendon to the bone.
