By IANS
Johannesburg : Explosive half-centuries by Michael Hussey and Andrew Symonds led Australia to a four-wicket victory against New Zealand at Benoni in a preparation for the Twenty20 World Championships that begins in South Africa Tuesday.
Chasing 183 to win Saturday, the match hung in the balance for a while before Australia stepped up the pace and clinched victory with ten balls to spare.
New Zealand paceman had the Australians on the ropes straightaway, removing Adam Gilchrist and Matthew Hayden for ducks in the very first over. It got worse when Brad Hodge fell with the score on 15.
Hussey and Symonds then came together and began Australia’s aggressive recovery.
Symonds belted 70 off 43 balls with eight fours and two sixes and added 113 with Hussey for the fourth wicket. Hussey accelerated once Symonds was dismissed and scored 72 off 44 balls with four sixes.
By the time Hussey fell in the 19th over with Australia on 181, victory was well within reach.
Earlier, New Zealand all-rounder Craig McMillan blasted 60 off only 29 balls with the help of five fours and four sixes. Ross Taylor’s 53 off 39 balls was the only other substantial contributor as New Zealand finished at 182 for eight.
At the same ground, a whirlwind 63 off 30 balls from Marlon Samuels led West Indies to a comfortable six-wicket victory against Kenya.
Chasing 156 in their first warm-up game, Shivnarine Chanderpaul remained unbeaten on 46 off 33 balls as West Indies reached the target with 2.3 overs to spare.
Marlon Samuels smashed three fours and six sixes during a 105-run stand for the third wicket with Chanderpaul after the first two wickets fell with the score on 38.
The West Indian bowlers had backed up skipper Ramnaresh Sarwan’s decision to field by restricting Kenya to 155 for five in 20 overs.
Sri Lanka’s bowlers did an excellent job of restricting hosts South Africa to 161 for nine in Potchefstroom before their batsmen overhauled the target with five wickets and seven balls to spare.
Put in to bat, Graeme Smith stood firm at one end, scoring 46 off 35 balls, but South Africa lost Herschelle Gibbs and AB de Villiers cheaply. Justin Kemp hit three sixes during his 32 off 22 balls but South Africa kept losing wickets at regular intervals and could never build up momentum.
Farveez Maharoof was Sri Lanka’s most successful bowler with three for 31.
Sanath Jayasuriya gave Sri Lanka a solid start, scoring 46 off 34 balls. Upul Tharanga and Dilruwan Perera fell cheaply but all of the middle-order batsmen chipped in to see Sri Lanka home. Mahela Jayawardene remained unbeaten on 37 off 21 balls.
An outstanding spell of three for 11 in four overs from Umar Gul spurred Pakistan to a 54-run win against Zimbabwe at Centurion.
Shahid Afridi also scalped three for 17 as Zimbabwe were restricted to 127 for eight in 20 overs, chasing Pakistan’s 181.
Hamilton Masakadza scored 41 off 37 balls and Tatenda Taibu helped Zimbabwe recover by adding 76 off 10.5 overs but the slide began once Afridi dismissed Taibu.
Pakistan had also got off to a poor start, losing their first three wickets for 61 before Shoaib Mailk ran amok, remaining unbeaten on 64 off 37 balls. He hit four sixes and three fours and added 50 for the fourth wicket with Younis Khan.
Bangladesh’s Nazimuddin scored an unbeaten 74 to help his side ease to a six-wicket win over Scotland at Centurion. The chase was boosted by his second-wicket stand of 87 with Aftab Ahmed, the target of 146 being reached with four overs to spare.
Nazimuddin’s knock included nine fours and three sixes while Aftab’s breezy 33 off 27 balls included five fours. The pair scored at more than 10 runs an over before Aftab fell to spinner Ross Lyons with the score on 95.
Earlier, Navdeep Poonia scored 54 off 43 balls to help Scotland to a respectable total. Left-arm spinner Abdur Razzak opened the bowling and pegged them back with early wickets before the middle order aided the recovery, stringing together a few partnerships with Poonia.