Rachin Ravindra and James Neesham specials meant it came down to six needed off the final ball for New Zealand, with No. 11 on strike - Australia then closed it out
Scorer: Chandan Duorah | Commentator: Shashwat Kumar
6:48pm Right. If anyone ever asked you what a see-saw World Cup contest looked like, this would be it. Australia, at the half-way point, seemed way ahead in the contest. Until...they were not. And credit for that must be given to New Zealand and for the way they kept coming at them. It was not enough in the end and while this loss might sting, having come so close, it will infuse confidence into the NZ camp - confidence that they can fashion winning situations from improbable circumstances.
It was a pleasure bringing this game to you, and we hope you enjoyed our coverage. A few hundred miles away, in Kolkata, the Dutch are slugging it out against Bangladesh, do hop over for some more sizzling Saturday action. Until next time, from me, Alex, Chandan and Venkat Raghav, this is goodbye!
Pat Cummins, Australia captain: (On the game in general) That was awesome. Sometimes I have to remember I was on the field. They kept coming at us. It was fantastic. (On the opening partnership) I loved that, especially from Trav, who has been away. That is how we want to play, take the game on and they led the way. (On the bowling display) It was a good wicket. I thought, in patches, we bowled really well. Other times, we gave too much width away. Some really good partnerships that were tough to get into. (On the fielding effort) Marnus out there, throwing himself around at the end. Not the easiest fielding grounds here but the boys threw themselves around. We have a few days' break. Will enjoy this one and then get stuck in (for the next game).
Tom Latham, New Zealand captain: (On his thoughts on the game) Fantastic game of cricket. Ebbs and flows throughout. To come so close, obviously it hurts. They played fantastically well and put us on the back foot from the start. He bowled fantastically to come and bowl ten overs for 30 and take three wickets, at crucial times. To bowl his full ten from one end was great and his work is paying off. (On the run-chase) When you are chasing close to 400, you have to play the perfect game. Young and Dev (Conway) got us off to a good start. Rachin played an extraordinary knock - one of the better knocks you will see. (On playing in Dharamsala) Great place to play, really special place to be in. (On the Rugby World Cup final) Just want to say all the best to the All Blacks and hopefully they can bring the World Cup home.
Travis Head, Player of the Match: (On how he is feeling) Nice to be back, nice to be contributing. Very close (game) in the end. Was a hell of a game. (On his preparation) Only had a couple of hits. Little bit like the WTC, where I had a few weeks off. Have a few bruises that I can definitely strap up over the next couple of days. (On the partnership with Warner) Think we play together really well. Complement each other well. We try to stay connected with each other, stay in the moment and we want to be as positive as we can.
6:30pm Phew, what a game and it will take everyone (including me) who watched this game a minute or two to regain their breath. New Zealand were in it. They were in it right until the end. And that, in itself, tells a story because they were chasing down 389. What hurt them, though, is the way they kept losing wickets when they seemed poised to cash in and when a partnership was going strong.
Take nothing away, however, from Rachin Ravindra, who, almost single-handedly, brought New Zealand to the brink of an improbable win. Mitchell also notched up a half-century and don't forget Neesham's heroics that almost propelled the Kiwis to a victory. But as the dust settles, they would rue the fact that none of the other batters supported Ravindra as much as they would have liked through the middle.
Australia, on the other hand, will be relieved more than anything else, especially having gotten 388 in the first innings. Hazlewood and Zampa looked the most penetrative with the ball, and for a while, it seemed that their decision to not bowl out Hazlewood would come back to bite them. In the end, they just had enough runs on the board, and their ability to keep picking wickets throughout the innings served them well.
Ferguson on strike. Six runs needed. A six will do the trick for NZ. Anything else, and Australia will be home
JDS Neesham run out 58 (64m 39b 3x4 3x6) SR: 148.71
7 off 2 now
9 off 3 now. Neesham needs a boundary, right about now. Long off, long on, deep mid wicket and deep square leg on the fence
11 off 4. One six here, and they are probably ahead of the game
13 off 5 now
18 off 5. Neesham needs a boundary early in this over to make Starc feel the pinch
Sandy Dharamsala outfield rated "average" for four out of five World Cup games
Runfests usually kill games as contests. But team scores a little below 300? Now we're talking
In the highest-scoring match in ODI World Cup history, Glenn Phillips returned incredible figures of 3 for 37
His opposite number Tom Latham admitted it "hurt" to get so close but fall short, but even he could not help gushing over how "fantastic" a game it was
Australia become the first team to score 350-plus in three successive ODIs
