New Zealand has defeated Australia by 2 wickets in the first One Day International (ODI) match at McLean Park in Napier to take 1-0 lead in the ODI series on Wednesday.

Australian skipper Ricky Ponting won the toss and opted to bat first. Australia scored 275 runs with loss of eight wickets in their allotted 50 overs. M Hussey was top scorer for Australia who scored 59 runs while S Watson smashed 45 runs in just 31 balls.

D Tuffey was the most successful Kiwi bowler who took three wickets while S Bond picked up two wickets. T Southee, J Oram and J Franklin shared one wicket each.

Kiwis chased the target of 276 runs successfully in 49.2 overs with two wickets to spare. L Taylor scored 70 runs while S Styris smashed unbeaten 49 runs to lead their team to victory.

D Bollinger took two wickets while R Harris, M Johnson, J Hopes, S Watson and N Hauritz picked up one wicket each. Taylor was declared man of the match for his brilliant batting performance.