07 February,2009 07:41 AM IST | | PTI
Former World No 1 Australia slumped to their second successive defeat against New Zealand to go 0-2 down in the five-match series and slide to the third spot in the ICC ODI rankings yesterday.
Put into bat Australia managed just 225 for five in 50 overs with stand-in captain Michael Clarke (98) and Michael Hussey (75) scoring the bulk of the runs. Chasing the modest target, New Zealand rode on Grant Elliot's unbeaten 61 and a useful contribution from Brendon McCullum (43) and Ross Taylor (47) to canter to a six-wicket win with seven balls to spare.