Kiwis fought well but their win would have been miracle: Ponting

Mohali, Nov 2 (UNI) Australian captain Ricky Ponting doffed his hat at New Zealand's spirited fightback but still felt it would have been a miracle had the Kiwis won the Champions Trophy semifinal here.

Relieved after beating the Kiwis by 34 runs in the semifinal last night and reaching the final of the event for the first time, Ponting said, ''Full credit to New Zealand for the way they fought and got back into the game despite being down 35 for six at a stage.

But still I feel it would have been a miracle had they won the game.

It was a pleasant win and we were looking forward to it.'' Asked if the fightback of the Kiwi lower order surprised him, Ponting said, ''Not really. We knew they have a deep lower order and we in fact expected this kind of performance from them.'' Ponting was happy with the performance of Man-of-the-Match Glenn McGrath and left-arm seamer Nathan Bracken but he picked all-rounder Andrew Symonds for special praise.

''McGrath and Bracken really bowled well but Symonds is a quality player. In fact he would always be there in my World XI,'' Ponting said.

On Australia's rather subdued batting in the match, Ponting said, ''(Shane) Bond was bowling well and I did not want to go after him.

After losing two wickets for four runs, it was important for me and (Damien) Martyn to build a partnership.'' Despite the defeat, Ponting's Kiwi counterpart Stephen Fleming was elated with the team's performance.

''Australia bowled well and our top order failed today. I could not do well either. Anyway, the fact that we took the game to that level is quite heartening. I don't know how many teams can do that,'' he said.

Asked to comment on Symonds' performance, Fleming said, ''Not only Symonds. Australia has a number of players in the ranks who are dangerous for the oppositions. They are an all-ruond team but I'm still happy that we could restrict them to 240 in the match.'' Asked if he felt this was the best Australian attack, Fleming replied in the negative.

''Not really. I think it's a good attack but they had better bowlers in the past,'' he added.

McGrath, meanwhile, was satisfied with his show.

''I'm happy with the way I bowled today and I think all three pacers bowled well today,'' he added.

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