Upbeat Kiwis see chink in Oz armour

Like a sledgehammer on a nail, the Australians have overwhelmed the opposition in this tournament. Being ruthless on the field is not a prac...

Like a sledgehammer on a nail, the Australians have overwhelmed the opposition in this tournament. Being ruthless on the field is not a practice they have mastered — it is their natural style of play and it is what has made them irresistible.

Gwalior, it now seems, was just an aberration. And Stephen Fleming would like to believe that Pune too could have been an aberration. New Zealand had the Aussies on the mat but they let them off the hook — so small are the margins one plays with against the world champions.

However, the Kiwis are looking seriously at tomorrow’s clash — their last league game against the Aussies — at the Nehru Stadium here. Fleming and his team arrived here immediately after the Cuttack game and have been practising vigorously since.

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The Kiwis have a few things going their way. They bat deep down the order and look solid in the middle. Craig McMillan, Jacob Oram, Brendon McCullum and, of course, all-rounder Scott Styris are in good nick. Particularly McMillan who controlled their chase against India at Cuttack perfectly.

His return to form has been the best thing to have happened to the New Zealand team and, with Styris, who has been impressive both with bat and ball on this tour, forms a good alliance in the middle order. If Chris Cairns comes back, the Kiwi batting line-up will be stronger.

The Kiwis also have no worries on the bowling front. They could bring in Ian Butler for Kyle Mills tomorrow but their frontline bowlers — Daryl Tuffey, Jacob Oram, Daniel Vettori and even Styris — should have satisfied the team management.

The only worry for the Kiwis has been their start. With skipper Fleming opening, they were expected to have blazing starts but that hasn’t happened in this series.

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Their coach Ashley Ross believes it will happen tomorrow. ‘‘It is a crucial game and we hope to stop the Aussies this time.’’ He hopes the Aussies, who have already reached the final, will experiment and will not be as awesome on Sunday.

Half his wish could come true, for the Aussies have decided to bring in Michael Kasprowicz and Jimmy Maher, likely to replace Symonds and Ian Harvey.

However, Australia’s bench strength has rarely let them down. Even without their best attack the Australians looked every bit the best team in the tri-series. The world too. The Aussies’ only worry has been their captain’s form. ‘‘I’m not dissatisfied with my form but yes I would have liked to score more runs in the series,’’ said Ricky Ponting.

He has a chance tomorrow.

The Nehru Stadium pitch here is known to be batsman-friendly except in the first hour when the ball is expected to seam. The weather is generally heavy in this part of the world in the mornings and as the match will start at 8.30 am, bowling first should be an ideal option.