Tait, Johnson unfeather Kiwis
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Nagpur: Shaun Tait and Mitchell Johnson ripped apart a quake-hit New Zealand batting order in a World Cup Group A match here at the Vidarbha Cricket Association (VCA) Stadium in Nagpur.
Tait and Johnson produced some stunners in between some awfully annoying deliveries, which frustrated the Kiwi batsmen and took their focus off, to share five of the pricey New Zealand wickets between them.
Bret Lee was the unluckiest of the lot despite being classy with the ball. His partner Mitchell Johnson also got one wicket in the form of the struggling Martin Guptill.
It looks like another low scoring match is in the making here as New Zealand failed to capitalise of a blistering start. Brendon McCullum looked in a devastating mood by going behind Tait but eventually gave away the wicket also to him.
Earlier, Australia captain Ricky Ponting won the toss and elected to field against New Zealand in a match overshadowed by the devastating earthquake in Christchurch.
At least 113 people have been killed as a result of tremors in the New Zealand city and the teams wore black armbands and observed a minute's silence before the start of play.
Both defending champions Australia and New Zealand won their opening matches following comprehensive wins over Zimbabwe and Kenya respectively.
Australia were unchanged for the game at the VCA ground but New Zealand brought in batsman Jamie How for all-rounder Jacob Oram in a tactical switch.
This fixture has been designated this year's Chappell-Hadlee Trophy match as it is the only chance Australia and New Zealand have to play each other in 2010/11.
The trophy, named for the contributions of Australia's Chappell family and New Zealand's Hadlee clan to their respective national teams, is currently held by Australia after a 3-2 series win last year in New Zealand.
Australia: Shane Watson, Brad Haddin, Ricky Ponting (C), Michael Clarke, Cameron White, David Hussey, Steve Smith, Mitchell Johnson, Brett Lee, Shaun Tait, Jason Krejza.
New Zealand: Martin Guptill, Brendon McCullum, Jesse Ryder, Ross Taylor, James Franklin, Scott Styris, Jamie How, Daniel Vettori (C), Nathan McCullum, Tim Southee, Hamish Bennett.
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