New Zealand
survived a late collapse to beat Australia by one wicket in a thrilling World
Cup game.
Chasing a meagre 152 to win, the Kiwis slipped from 131-4 to 146-9 as
Mitchell Starc claimed 6-28.
However, Kane Williamson (45no) hit Pat Cummins for six to seal victory
with 26.5 overs to spare in a wonderfully tense climax at Eden Park in
Auckland.
Earlier, Australia lost eight wickets for 26 runs as they were bowled
out for 151, with Trent Boult claiming 5-27.
"I was always going to try and hit a boundary at the end as I
didn't want to leave it too long," Williamson told Test Match Special.
New Zealand, who have won all four of their group matches, need only one
victory from their remaining two games - against Afghanistan and Bangladesh -
to secure their place in the quarter-finals.
Tournament favourites Australia, meanwhile, have three points from their
first three games, heading into Wednesday's clash with Afghanistan in Perth.
Australia captain Michael Clarke, playing his first competitive
international since December following hamstring surgery, said: "Our
batting was horrendous, to put it mildly, but Mitchell Starc was a
genius."
This was only the sixth one-wicket win in World Cup history, although
such a slender margin of victory appeared unlikely in the extreme as Brendon
McCullum flayed a 21-ball fifty to lead the Kiwi pursuit.
Even after he fell in the eighth over to spark a collapse of three
wickets in five balls - Ross Taylor and Grant Elliott were bowled by Starc
either side of the interval - few doubted the outcome.
Williamson and Corey Anderson took New Zealand to within 21 runs of
victory before Glenn Maxwell induced an ugly swipe from the left-hander that
found only mid-on.
Starc, combining fast, full deliveries with well-directed bouncers, had
an evasive Luke Ronchi caught behind off his glove, then Cummins accounted for
a needlessly reckless Daniel Vettori.
New Zealand nerves were evident as Starc cleaned up Adam Milne and Tim
Southee with successive deliveries, but Boult kept out the last two balls of
the over and Williamson drove the first ball of the next over long-on to cap a
remarkable game.
"My heart was racing at a million miles an hour when I went out
there to bat. I've never been so nervous in my career," Boult told Test
Match Special.
Even Starc's career-best return could not mask an inept Australia
batting display that featured a precipitous collapse from 80-1 to 106-9.
While fellow left-arm Boult was the chief beneficiary en route to his
best ODI figures, Vettori's impact was crucial.
Introduced only six overs into an innings which began with a barrage of
boundaries, the veteran left-arm spinner accounted for Shane Watson and Steve
Smith either side of Tim Southee's removal of David Warner for 34.
Vettori finished with 2-41, while Boult claimed five wickets for one run
in 17 balls in front of a boisterous home crowd en route to his best ODI
figures.
Even Brad Haddin's pugnacious 43 in a last-wicket stand of 45 with
Cummins - an Australia World Cup record - could not prevent Australia posting
their lowest World Cup total batting first.