It was a hearty site as James Hopes leaped on Shane Watson to give him a bear hug as the winning runs came off Watson's bat as he hit two consecutive sixes, in chase of a meager 201 target posted by New Zealand in the Champions Trophy final.

It was Australia once again who lifted the Champions Trophy in their winners' jacket for the second consecutive time, as they defeated New Zealand at the Centurion by 6 wickets in 45.2 overs.

Though their captain Ricky Ponting retired a bit too early but the man-in-form Shane Watson (105 off 129 balls) kept the show running for Australia. He was fearless once he settled on the crease and steered his team to the win powered by a wonderful century. It was Watson's best innings on an international stage and this won him the Man of the Match title for second consecutive time in this Champions Trophy.

The run chase for a meager 201 posted by New Zealand before the Down Under, did not seem to be all that easy as the Aussie innings began. Kyle Mills and Shane Bond were exceptional in their opening spells as they sent the skipper (1 off 4 balls) and opener Tim Paine (1 off 6 balls) packing within first 2 overs. But as Cameroon White joined Watson on the crease, they struck a massive partnership of 128 runs in 32.3 overs and there was no looking back then.

NZ kept their hold tight on the Aussies for only the few overs giving them an opportunity to score only 2 runs per over. But then the Aussie mental strength came into play as the other four bowlers were welcomed with boundaries in their very first overs. The underdogs went down to the field without their lucky charm, their captain Daniel Vettori, who suffered a hamstring injury and had pull out from the match at the last moment. The team walked out with Brendon McCullum as their captain, who got dismissed at a 14-ball duck. Despite having won the toss and opting to bat first on a pitch that looked like getting runs, rest of the batsmen too could not exploit the conditions except for Martin Guptill (40 off 64 balls) and Neil Broom (37 runs off 62 balls). Also, the 65-run stand between Broom and James Franklin helped the team to reach 200 in 50 overs.

Australia were just as good with the ball as they were with their bats. An already struggling NZ in the absence of their skipper had to face the wrath of Aussie seamers, Mitchell Johnson, Nathan Hauritz and Brett Lee who caused sheer devastation in the NZ camp. Towards, the end, it was a challenge in itself for NZ to survive for the complete 50 overs and all they could pose before a determined Australia was 201 which was hardly a target for a team like Australia.

Tags:- Australia   Brendon McCullum   Champions Trophy   Daniel Vettori   James Hopes   Kyle Mills   Mitchell Johnson   New Zealand   Ricky Ponting   Shane Watson