349 is a huge target to chase, but this was the sort of target that New Zealand had successfully chased in their last two home encounters against Australia.
In a World Cup match in the West Indies, however, the Rediff.com expert reckoned that New Zealand would find it hard to cross 280. So New Zealand's initial pressure index (PI) was 150.
Openers Peter Fulton and Stephen Fleming started cautiously, but just when Fleming started opening his shoulders he was adjudged caught behind by umpire Aleem Dar. Fleming looked distraught and New Zealand's PI, which had dropped below 150 after a Fleming sixer, rose to 152.
Minutes later the PI jumped to 160 when Glenn McGrath claimed the wicket of Ross Taylor.
Fulton and Scott Styris, who is having a wonderful World Cup, successfully pretended that all was well and raced along to 75/2 in 10 overs. The PI at that point was down to143.
But then Styris needlessly jumped out to McGrath and this triggered off the sort of collapse that one expects from the minnows. From 75/2 it became 89/5. From a PI of 143, it soon became a PI of 175.
There was little left after that. New Zealand just gave up and proceeded to pack their bags for the crucial semi-final encounter against Sri Lanka in Jamaica on Tuesday.
New Zealand will wonder if resting fast bowler Shane Bond in this match was a mistake. Of course, Ian Chappell didn't make a big fuss about this and demand a probe by the International Cricket Council.
We hear all that crap only if Sri Lanka drop Muttiah Muralitharan or Chaminda Vaas.
Sunil T and Sunil Patil of Cranes Software created this pressure map based on the details retrieved from the Rediff scorer
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