VB Series

At Hobart, January 16, 2004. Australia won by 148 runs. Australia 6 pts. Toss: Australia.

Gilchrist, who had hardly got bat on ball all summer, now got a lot of bat on the 126 balls he faced. His 172, including 13 fours and three sixes, fell one short of the record one-day score for Australia, set by Mark Waugh against West Indies at Melbourne in 2000-01. And when Gilchrist reached 150 from his 110th ball, making it the fastest international 150, he also reached 6,000 runs in limited-overs internationals. The middle order registered three ducks and a seven but, with the top four rattling up 319, Australia closed at 344 - a total that shut the opposition out of the match. When Zimbabwe batted, they did so with the ineptitude that typified their recent form: half the side had gone with the score at 93. Not for the first time, Streak had to carry the team, following his three wickets with a combative 64.

Man of the Match: A. C. Gilchrist. Attendance: 12,715.