New Zealand (67/1) won the toss and chose to bat against Australia in the second match of the ICC Champions Trophy. Australia have never lost to Kane Williamson’s side in the Champions Trophy and Smith’s team will be determined to keep their winning run alive. Catch live cricket score of Australia vs New Zealand here. (LIVE SCORECARD | LIVE STREAMING INFO)
17:22 hrs IST: Good news. Play to begin in 15 minutes from now, should there be no more rain. It’s going to be 46-over per side affair.
17:14 hrs IST: The covers are coming off – again.
17:04 hrs IST: And the bad news wasn’t that far away. Covers are coming back on. And we start losing overs now.
False alarm ? – the covers are going back on ?️ #NZvAUS #CT17
LIVE ➡️ https://t.co/e1Hn5WdaLv pic.twitter.com/HFUm1sTx8q
— ICC (@ICC) June 2, 2017
16:55 hrs IST: Good news. The rain has stopped. Covers have started to come off at Edgbaston – BLACKCAPS’ TWEET
16:40 hrs IST: “My brand value should be somewhere in the region of USD 120 million. But these are just number for me. It is not something that I strive for. It is just a by-product of something that I do in my professional career and the focus always remains that.” – Some strong words from this Indian cricketer.
DO YOU KNOW - The ICC Champions Trophy 2013 encounter between Australia and New Zealand (at Edgbaston) was abandoned due to rain.
16:20 hrs IST: Terror notwithstanding, government should give India-Pakistan cricket a chance. A must read!
16:10 hrs IST: Doesn’t seem convincing. It’s still raining. 60 per cent of the ground is covered.
Rain in Birmingham … weather forecast says it may hang around for another hour or so… BLACKCAPS 67-1, 10 overs #CT17 ??v?? ^WN pic.twitter.com/RgXf7CKJD4
— BLACKCAPS (@BLACKCAPS) June 2, 2017
DO YOU KNOW - Australia and New Zealand have won one match each in three matches played in England. The remaining one game could not produce a result.
15:49 hrs IST: Rain stops play. It isn’t that heavier, seems to be a slight delay. We’ll keep you posted.
15:45 hrs IST: John Hastings now.
Australia look a balanced unit, pleased that @johnhastings194 is in the XI, massively underrated white ball cricketer. #AUSvNZ
— Tom Moody (@TomMoodyCricket) June 2, 2017
15:44 hrs IST: Terrible mix-up between Williamson and Ronchi but the New Zealand wicket-keeper batsman gets lucky as Matthew Wade misses an easy run-out chance. New Zealand are 66/1 after 9 overs.
DO YOU KNOW - Australia won the Champions Trophy for the second time by beating New Zealand by six wickets in the final at Centurion on October 5,2009.
15:39 hrs IST: FOUR! Shortish delivery from Hazlewood and Williamson is too quick to pull it towards square leg for one bounce four. New Zealand are 58/1 after 8 overs.
15:36 hrs IST: Hazlewood again
15:35 hrs IST: Seven runs off the next five balls. New Zealand are 52/1 after 7 overs.
15:33 hrs IST: FOUR! Fuller length from Cummins, Williamson opens the bat face and hits it well to the backward point region for his first boundary.
15:32 hrs IST: Here comes the first change in bowling – Pat Cummins
15:30 hrs IST: Single for Williamson. New Zealand are 41/1 after 6 overs.
15:29 hrs IST: Williamson is in at No. 3
15:27 hrs IST: WICKET! Extra bounce for Hazlewood. Guptill looks to flick through leg but instead gets a leading edge and Maxwell does the rest at point.
15:24 hrs IST: Single off the last ball for Guptill. New Zealand (38/0 after 5 overs) off to rollicking start.
15:23 hrs IST: FOUR! Fullish length from Starc and Guptill drives it straight past the bowler. Into 20s now.
15:20 hrs IST: FOUR! Outswinger from Hazlewood and Ronchi lofts it over mid-off. Expensive over from the Australian seamer. New Zealand are 29/0 after 4 overs.
15:17 hrs IST: FOUR! Brilliant from Guptill. Nothing wrong with the delivery. A firm push past the bowler and Warner fails to stop it from reaching the boundary.
15:15 hrs IST: Five runs off Starc’s second. New Zealand are 19/0 after 3 overs.
DO YOU KNOW – Australia recorded their biggest win in terms of runs in Champions Trophy by beating New Zealand by 164 runs at Colombo on September 15,2002.
15:11 hrs IST: Starc to continue
15:10 hrs IST: FOUR! Length ball, outside off, Guptill gets into position and dispatches it past the fielder at point. New Zealand are 14/0 after 2 overs.
15:08 hrs IST: FOUR! Straying down leg and Guptill hits in the air over mid-wicket for his first boundary.
15:06 hrs IST: Josh Hazlewood comes into the attack.
15:05 hrs IST: Dot ball to finish off. New Zealand are 4/0 after first over.
15:04 hrs IST: Ronchi gets off the mark with a single. Seems to be a good decision from Williamson to open with Ronchi (instead of Latham). Big tournament, a quick start is all a team needs.
15:03 hrs IST: First runs of the day for Guptill. On his pads, and the New Zealander works it away in the gap between mid-on and mid-wicket for three runs.
15:01 hrs IST: Straightaway some shape for Mitch’Hell’
15:00 hrs IST: Time for live action. Guptill and Ronchi to open for the Kiwis. Starc to start the proceedings for the Kangaroos.
14:56 hrs IST: Both teams gather for the national anthems.
14:45 hrs IST: Other than the Champions Trophy, a huge bombshell has been dropped in India, with MS Dhoni and Sunil Gavaskar the targets. Read more about it here.
14:40 hrs IST: In more Champions Trophy news, there is bad news for hosts England as Chris Woakes has been ruled out of the tournament due to a side strain. He managed to bowl only two overs in the game against Bangladesh.
14:37 hrs IST: Here are the playing XIs of both teams. Australia loaded with four pacers, but New Zealand have included Mitchell Santner, the left-arm orthodox spinner.
Australia: David Warner, Aaron Finch, Steven Smith(c), Travis Head, Glenn Maxwell, Moises Henriques, Matthew Wade(w), Mitchell Starc, Pat Cummins, John Hastings, Josh Hazlewood
New Zealand: Martin Guptill, Luke Ronchi(w), Kane Williamson(c), Ross Taylor, Neil Broom, James Neesham, Corey Anderson, Mitchell Santner, Adam Milne, Tim Southee, Trent Boult
14:33 hrs IST: New Zealand have won the toss and have chosen to bat.
14:23 hrs IST: In the previous encounter between these two teams in the Champions Trophy (2013), the match in Edgbaston ended in a no-result due to rain. Conditions today are bright and sunny.
14:14 hrs IST: New Zealand have never tasted success against Australia in the Champions Trophy. Will Kane Williamson’s team change that figure today?
14:10 hrs IST: A warm welcome to HT’s live coverage of game 2 of the ICC Champions Trophy 2017 between Australia and New Zealand. The first game saw plenty of runs between England and Bangladesh. Will Edgbaston dish out a similar match?
Key players
Steve Smith and David Warner form the pillars of the Australian batting but they will be boosted by the presence of the pace quartet in Mitchell Starc, Pat Cummins, James Pattinson and Josh Hazlewood. With a strong bowling attack, Australia head into the match as firm favorites.
New Zealand’s hopes will rest on talismanic captain Kane Williamson and on Martin Guptill. However, the likes of Tim Southee and Trent Boult form a formidable opening bowling pair and they will be the key to the team’s success.
Quotes
I don’t think we’ll end up going with the four big quicks. We’ve got a couple of options there as all-rounders – Australian skipper Steve Smith
We know the conditions, but you can’t rely on that. The wickets over here are pretty good, and the bowlers are going to have to be at the very top of their game as a result – Tim Southee, New Zealand pacer
Source: HindustanTimes