Friday, October 2, 2009

Ponting, Watson smash centuries to lead Aus to final

Ashish Shukla

Centurion, Oct 2 (PTI) Skipper Ricky Ponting (111) and Shane Watson (136) smashed elegant centuries as Australia trampled England by nine wickets to storm into the final of the Champions Trophy at the SuperSport Park here today.

Their sublime unbeaten knocks produced a stunning record 252-run second-wicket partnership for Australia as the defending champions continued to torment England.

Chasing 258 to win the first semifinal and earn their second shot at the title, Australia crushed the target with 8.1 overs to spare.

En route to his 28th one-day hundred, Ponting became the first Australian batsman to touch the 12,000 run-mark when he pulled Graham Onions for a four in the 29th over.

Ponting and Watson, who outscored his skipper with his third ODI hundred, put on an amazing batting display to outwit their rivals yet again.

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