Australia captain Ricky Ponting singled out pace bowler Glenn McGrath and all-rounder Andrew Symonds for praise after his team's seven-wicket win over New Zealand in the Champions Trophy on Thursday.
McGrath knocked over New Zealand's top order with three wickets before fellow seamer Michael Kasprowicz ran through the middle order and Australia restricted New Zealand to 198 for nine.
Man-of-the-match Symonds then smashed 71 off 47 balls and combined with Damien Martyn (60 not out) to guide Australia to 199 for three in the 38th over and a place in the semi-finals.
"Overall it was a very good day for us," Ponting said after the Group A match at the Oval.
"Our fast bowlers did a good job getting early wickets and putting them on the back foot then Andrew Symonds, Damien Martyn and Matthew Hayden played beautifully," he added.
"He (McGrath) bowled a couple of bad balls in his first few overs that were dealt with pretty harshly but once he got that first wicket he got his tail up and set the win up for us.
"When Andrew bats like he did today there aren't too many grounds big enough for him," added Ponting, referring to the four sixes and seven fours struck by Symonds.
"He is very strong and his record is outstanding at the moment," Ponting added. "I think he's one of the keys for us going forward in this tournament."
New Zealand captain Stephen Fleming said his side had failed to handle the pressure applied by the world champions.
"It was just wickets, losing them in clumps and not being able to form a partnership through the middle," said Fleming. "It all comes from the pressure of playing Australia.
"You try and go hard at them, like you need to, (but) a score of 200 just wasn't going to cut it."
