A late batting onslaught by Ramnaresh Sarwan and Denesh Ramdin saw the West Indies snatch victory with one ball to spare in the One-Day International against New Zealand here Saturday. In a match reduced to 28 overs per side after a lengthy disruption due to thunder and hail, New Zealand made 152 for eight and under the Duckworth-Lewis system the West Indies was set a target of 158 to win. Man-of-the-match Sarwan fittingly hit the winning run off the penultimate delivery to finish unbeaten on 67 off 65 balls while Ramdin was not out 28 from 18. For much of the innings the target had seemed out of reach for the West Indies as New Zealand kept tight control in the field, wickets fell at regular intervals and the required run rate escalated. Midway through the 23rd over, when Ramdin came to the crease at the fall of Kieron Pollard's wicket, they were 110 for five. With three overs remaining the West Indies still required 30 runs before Sarwan and Ramdin fully opened up, taking 12 off a Tim Southee over and then 14 off Jeetan Patel. In a desperate final over, Ramdin took two off the first delivery bowled by Southee, and then he and Sarwan took singles off the fourth and fifth balls to seal the match. In between both Brendon McCullum and Grant Elliot shied at the stumps. The win put the West Indies one up in the five-match series, although it was New Zealand which started with its tail up after dominating the 36 overs available in the rain-abandoned first ODI at Queenstown on New Year's eve. But it was rocked in the third over here when Fidel Edwards had the big-hitting Brendon McCullum caught behind by Ramdin for one and they never recovered. The third match of the five-game series is in Wellington on Wednesday. Clarke rescues Aussies Michael Clarke led a wobbling Australia's fightback with an unbeaten 73 on the opening day of the third and final Test against South Africa at the Sydney Cricket Ground on Saturday. With all the recognized frontline batsmen failing to establish against a charging South African bowlers, including skipper Ricky Ponting who fell for a first-ball duck, Clarke held on to redeem some lost prestige. Mitchell Johnson is unbeaten on 17 with Clarke at close. Scores: Australia 267-6 (Katich 47, Hayden 31, Hussey 30, Haddin 38 Clarke 73*, Johnson 17*, Steyn 2
