Australia slump to 2nd defeat against NZ, slip to 3rd rank

Melbourne, Feb 6: Former world number one Australia today slumped to their second successive defeat against New Zealand to go 0-2 down in the five-match cricket series and slide to third sport in the ICC ODI rankings. Put into bat, Australia cut a sorry figure, managing just 225 for five in 50 overs with stand-in captain Michael Clarke (98) and Michael Hussey (75) scoring bulk of the runs. Chasing the modest target, New Zealand rode on Grant Elliot's unbeaten 61 and useful contributions from Brendon McCullum (43) and Ross Taylor (47) to canter to a six-wicket win with seven balls to spare. This was Australia's fifth consecutive defeat. Trailing the series 0-2, the hosts now face a must-win situation when they take on New Zealand in the third ODI on Sunday in Sydney. New Zealand witnessed some torrid moments as well but Elliot stayed till the end to slam an unbeaten 75-ball 61 and hit a boundary off Ben Hilfenhaus to score the winning runs. New Zealand's chase got off to a poor start after losing opener Martin Guptill (8) in the fifth over. The setback prompted McCullum to shun his natural stroke-play and nudge the ball around. He put on 41 runs with Peter Fulton (21) and another 42 with Taylor before falling to James Hopes. Taylor did his bit as well but like McCullum, he too missed a half-century despite coming so close to the mark. Elliot, however, not only completed his fifty but also shouldered the responsibility to see the side through. PTI

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