Crippled by Daniel Vettori’s hamstring strain, New Zealand limped to 200 in the Champions Trophy final against Australia. Vettori became the fourth vital Kiwi player besides Jacob Oram, Jesse Ryder and Daryl Tuffey to be struck down by injury in the tournament.

And, keeping in mind the New Zealand skipper’s all-round show, his indisposition was a triple blow to his team. The team weren’t just missing the services of their inspirational leader but a match-winning bowler and batsman too. World cricket’s likeable underdogs were in a hole even before the toss. And with their opponents being the Aussies, who had recently rediscovered their winning touch and seemed to be jumping out their skins to reach the finish line, it seemed an uneven contest.

But as is expected of the Black Cups, who don’t carry a white flag in their team kit, they dragged along. Even when they were on the ropes after a barrage of short balls and toe-crushing yorkers, they didn’t collapse. With the score reading 94 for five at about the halfway stage, reaching 200 seemed a distant dream. But the lower-order consisting of bits-and-pieces all-rounders and genuine tailenders stood up against the hostile Aussie pacers to survive 50 overs and take the score to some sort of respectability.

Shane Bond, who remained unbeaten having negotiated the short-pitched stuff, then came back to return the favour. An away moving ball had Aussie opener Tim Paine caught in slips. Soon, a fired up Kyle Mills complemented Bond by having the in-form Aussie skipper Ricky Ponting lbw for 1. With the final stretch in sight, the Kiwis had taken a few giant strides.

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