ICC Champions Trophy semi-final, Mohali:
Australia 240-9 (50 overs) beat New Zealand 206 (46 overs) by 34 runs
Australia secured a first appearance in a Champions Trophy final with a 34-run victory over New Zealand in Mohali.
McGrath bowled 10 successive overs, taking 3-22
Chasing 241 for victory, the Kiwis tumbled to 35-6, Glenn McGrath taking 3-22 in a 10-over spell.
But Jacob Oram (43) and Daniel Vettori (79) shared a seventh-wicket stand of 103 and the lower order kept thrashing boundaries to make the Aussies sweat.
Ricky Ponting and Andrew Symonds both hit 58 as Australia posted 240-9, Kyle Mills taking 4-38 for New Zealand.
And the Aussies went on to continue their recent dominance over their trans-Tasman rivals with their 16th victory in their last 18 one-day matches.
It put an end to New Zealand hopes of another shot at the title they won in Kenya six years ago.
Kiwi captain Stephen Fleming said on winning the toss that there would be movement early and bowling would be more difficult under lights.
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While his prediction proved accurate, his side were unable to capitalise.
McGrath had Lou Vincent caught at slip, saw Hamish Marshall edge behind and uproot Peter Fulton's off stump as the batsman left the delivery alone.
Left-armer Nathan Bracken found extravagant swing, and Fleming's outside edge for 15 then lured Brendon McCullum into a leading edge to mid-on.
But with McGrath having used up his 10-over quota in a single spell, and dew becoming heavy as the evening progressed, the rest of the attack struggled for control.
Vettori, dropped by Mike Hussey at slip on five, capitalised with his third one-day half century in his 177th appearance.
Even after he was ninth man out, bowled off his pads by Mitchell Johnson, last-wicket duo Mills and Bond kept swinging until, finally, Mills edged Brett Lee behind for 21 with four overs left.
Scored largely before the floodlights took effect, Australia's total had looked defendable but not out of reach.
The world champions were 4-2 in the third over after Mills struck twice in the space of four balls.
Ponting hit his 55th one-day international half century
Mills was accurate and extracted some bounce and a little movement to provoke ill-advised shots from Shane Watson and Adam Gilchrist in the third over of the game.
Shane Bond could have finished the job with an inswinging yorker that struck Ponting on the toe just an inch outside the line of off-stump in the fourth over.
Instead, the Aussie skipper was able to put on 66 for the third wicket with Damien Martyn, who was obviously furious after he mis-timed a sweep at Vettori on 26.
Hussey was dropped by Vettori off Oram - a favour he later returned - before building stands of 53 from nine overs with Ponting and 65 from 12 with Symonds.
After an impressive display of straight-driving, Ponting tried to pull a short ball in the first over of Mills' second spell and Vettori made amends with the catch at mid-on.
Symonds' towering straight six off Vettori early in his innings was one of just four boundaries in his 20th ODI half century.
Whenever Australia tried to hit out, they lost wickets, Mills returning to have Michael Clarke caught off a thick edge while Bond bowled Symonds and Brett Lee.