Kiwis hoping to defy Aussies

PUNE: The focus in Monday’s Trans-Tasmanian rivalry here will be only Chris Cairns — not just for the New Zealanders but also the Australians.
One of the more colourful characters in the New Zealand side, Cairns finds the Nehru Stadium here as one of his favourite grounds, for he got his first One-day century here eight years ago, though his team lost to India by five wickets.
The Kiwis’ inspirational all-rounder, who missed the last match at Faridabad due to a hamstring injury, will be back for a re-match against the World champions Australia. “Cairns is fit,’’ New Zealand skipper Stephen Fleming said here on Sunday after practice.
Cairns has been a match-winner for New Zealand on number of occasions and certainly the Kiwis are banking on him for an encore on this ground. (103 and three wickets in 1995).
Smarting under a comprehensive defeat at the hands of the depleted Australian attack, the Black Caps will go all out for a win and stay on track in the series. Kiwi coach Ashley Ross said that they were quite happy with a four-day break they got after the Faridabad match.
But obviously the record book favours the Aussies. Australia have a 59-25 head-to-head record against them and have won 10 of their 11 matches on neutral venues.