Aussies thrash Kiwis to clinch 5th World Cup title
| WORLD CUP 2015 FINAL: NEW ZEALAND VS AUSTRALIA |
| New Zealand 183 (45 Overs) |
| Australia 186/3 (33.1 Overs) Australia won the match by 7 wickets |
Australia claimed their fifth world best title today beating co-hosts New Zealand before a record attendance at home-ground Melbourne in the World Cup 2015.
For all latest news, follow The Daily Star's Google News channel. Aussies proved their worth cutting the final short in a low-scoring match bowling out the Kiwis at 183 with left-arm pace and clean-sweeping a victory with compelling batting.
Brendon McCullum and his team, who were considered a heavyweight contender for the title in this tournament, could do little and were simply outclassed by their neighbours.
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Put to bowl first, Australia bowlers breathed fire down on New Zealand and packed the co-hosts at 183 – overpowering the Kiwis with left-arm pace.
The Kiwis dropped like flies starting with McCullum in first over for a duck, except for the period that saw a heroic 111-run partnership between Grant Elliott and Ross Taylor.
Before the first drinks break, New Zealand were three down after choosing to bat first. The slide resumed during the batting powerplay with James Faulkner hurting the most.
Mitchell Johnson and James Faulkner ended up having three wickets each with Mitchell Starc, who made the opening breakthrough, two and Glenn Maxwell one.
| New Zealand | Runs | Balls | |
| MJ Guptill | b Maxwell | 15 | 34 |
| BB McCullum* | b Starc | 0 | 3 |
| KS Williamson | c & b Johnson | 12 | 33 |
| LRPL Taylor | c †Haddin b Faulkner | 40 | 72 |
| GD Elliott | c †Haddin b Faulkner | 83 | 82 |
| CJ Anderson | b Faulkner | 0 | 2 |
| L Ronchi† | c Clarke b Starc | 0 | 4 |
| DL Vettori | b Johnson | 9 | 21 |
| TG Southee | run out (Maxwell) | 11 | 11 |
| MJ Henry | c Starc b Johnson | 0 | 7 |
| TA Boult | not out | 0 | 1 |
| Extras 13 | Total | 183 |
Coming down to defend the total, Trent Boult made an early statement sending back Aaron Finch for a duck before David Warner pummeled New Zealand to settle nerves.
It was the last ODI for Australia captain Michael Clarke and he put on one last show – engineering a fifty and making sure that he takes the prize trophy home.
The other wickets lost for Australia were of Warner and Clarke – to Matt Henry – and the side taken to have had one of the deadliest bowling attacks went down without much fight.
| Australia | Runs | Balls | |
| DA Warner | c Elliott b Henry | 45 | 46 |
| AJ Finch | c & b Boult | 0 | 5 |
| SPD Smith | not out | 56 | 71 |
| MJ Clarke* | b Henry | 74 | 72 |
| SR Watson | not out | 2 | 5 |
| Extras 9 | Total | 186 |
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Australia Team
AJ Finch, DA Warner, SPD Smith, MJ Clarke (C), SR Watson, GJ Maxwell, JP Faulkner, BJ Haddin (wk), MG Johnson, MA Starc, JR Hazlewood
New Zealand Team
MJ Guptill, BB McCullum (C), KS Williamson, LRPL Taylor, GD Elliott, CJ Anderson, L Ronchi (wk), DL Vettori, MJ Henry, TG Southee, TA Boult