Travis Head's rapid hundred trumped Rachin Ravindra's gallant 116 as Australia beat New Zealand by five runs in the highest-scoring match in World Cup history to stay on course for a semi-final slot in the 50-overs tournament on Saturday.
Head, who missed the first five matches of the tournament with a broken hand, smashed 109 off 67 balls and forged a breakneck 175-run opening stand with David Warner (81) to propel Australia to a commanding 388 all out at the Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association Stadium.
Glenn Maxwell (41), Josh Inglis (38) and skipper Pat Cummins (37) provided breezy cameos down the order before Australia were all out in 49.2 overs.
Glenn Phillips was the pick of the bowlers, picking up 3-37, while Trent Boult took 3-77 and Mitchell Santner 2-80.
Ravindra led New Zealand's spirited reply with his second hundred of the tournament and Daryl Mitchell made 54 to steady their innings.
The 2019 runners-up looked out of the contest after Ravindra fell in the 41st over but James Neesham injected fresh drama with a never-say-die 58 but it was not enough in the end as New Zealand ended just short of their target on 383-9.
Leg-spinner Adam Zampa took three wickets for 74 runs, while Josh Hazlewood and skipper Cummings picked up two scalps apiece.
Player of the match Head said: "Nice to be back, it was very close in the end, a hell of a game.
"I've only had a couple of hits, a bit like the Test championship where I was off for six or seven weeks. It's still early days but it's nice to be back.
On his partnership with Warner he said: "We play together really, really well, we combine really well. Play what comes towards us, try and play positive and do what we can."
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Australia's captain Pat Cummins celebrates after taking the wicket of New Zealand's Matt Henry. AFP -
New Zealand's James Neesham. AFP -
Jimmy Neesham of New Zealand bats. Getty Images -
Australia's Mitchell Starc bowls. AFP -
Australia's Adam Zampa celebrates with teammates after taking the wicket of New Zealand's Daryl Mitchell. AFP -
New Zealand's Daryl Mitchell celebrates after scoring a half-century. AFP -
Australia's Josh Hazlewood celebrates after taking the wicket of New Zealand's Will Young. AFP -
Australia's Josh Hazlewood fields. AP -
Rachin Ravindra of New Zealand. Getty -
Australia's Travis Head, left, celebrates with teammate Mitchell Marsh after scoring a century in the Cricket World Cup against New Zealand in Dharamsala on October 28, 2023. AFP -
Travis Head of Australia celebrates after reaching his century. Getty Images -
New Zealand's Glenn Phillips, centre, celebrates with teammates after the dismissal of Australia's Travis Head. AP -
David Warner of Australia raises his bat as he celebrates after reaching half-century. Getty Images -
David Warner of Australia bats. Getty Images -
New Zealand's Glenn Phillips celebrates with teammates after taking the wicket of Australia's David Warner. AFP -
Travis Head of Australia is bowled out by Glenn Phillips of New Zealand. Getty Images -
Australia's David Warner in action. AFP -
New Zealand's Trent Boult appeals for LBW against Australia's captain Pat Cummins. AFP -
Australia's Adam Zampa is clean bowled by New Zealand's Trent Boult. AFP -
New Zealand's Mitchell Santner, left, celebrates with teammate Glenn Phillips after taking the wicket of Australia's Mitchell Marsh. AFP -
New Zealand's Glenn Phillips celebrates with teammates after taking the wicket of Australia's Steve Smith. AFP
Australia captain Cummins said: "That was awesome. Sometimes I have to remember I'm out in the field, not a spectator. A fantastic game, they kept coming at us.
"I love the openers, especially Trav who's been away for five weeks. They showed intent, we want to take the game on.
"That was a good wicket. In patches we bowled really well, sometimes we gave too much width away. Some really good partnerships, it was tough to get into them.
"Marnus threw himself round. It's not the easiest fielding ground, but it made a big difference.
"We'll enjoy this one and get stuck in on the back end."
New Zealand captain Tom Latham said: "It was a fantastic game of cricket. There were ebbs and flows throughout the 100 overs. Obviously to get so close hurts. It was a fantastic game.
"The Aussie openers played fantastically well. We were on the back foot straight away. We wanted to take wickets and contain them as much as we could. Everything we through down tended to hit the middle of the bat. We were able to pull it back but they had a couple of key partnerships at the end."
On Ravindra's innings, he added: "You need to play the perfect game when you are chasing near 400. They put us off to a fantastic start and it was a fantastic knock from Rachin [Ravindra] - one of the better ones you'll see in a chase. It was pretty special to get close. I'm proud of the guys."
