For the Australians, it was a chastening experience. They might have won this match ultimately. But there were so many occasions today when they looked inferior to the enthusiastic bunch from Zimbabwean.

The Indian supporters rooted for Zimbabwe. Their line of thinking was that Zimbabwe and South Africa had to win their matches and India beat New Zealand for the Indian team to make the semi-finals.

But Zimbabwe surprised everybody by opting to field first. In earlier matches, even when conditions seemed inhospitable to batsmen, they had opted to take first strike. But today with a blazing sun and a flat pitch beckoningthem, they asked the Aussies to set the target.

The Australians, who faced a must-win situation, grabbed the opportunity through the classical Mark Waugh who carved up the bowling with delightful elegance. He took his time settling down, but the scoring rate was healthy as Ricky Ponting (36 from 35 deliveries) blasted the bowling.

But once Mark Waugh settled down, he was the master. His brother Steve Waugh (62) kept him company after Darren Lehman (6) had to retire after being struck on his gloves by Henry Olonga.

Mark Waugh, the first non-Indian to get a century in this World Cup, blazed away to an unparalleled fourth century in World Cup with 13 sparkling boundaries. His twin hammered a forceful 62 as the Australians made an imposing 303 for four from their 50 overs.

But if they thought that victory was theirs for the taking, they were mistaken. With the packed house fully behind them, Zimbabwe attacked the imposing target in scintillating fashion.

The dangerous Glenn McGrath was seen off. But allthe others, including leg-spinner Shane Warne were milked. Warne, in fact, had a harrowing time as Johnson clobbered him for four boundaries in one over. Murray Goodwin was not far behind. The duo added 114 runs for the second wicket to spread panic in the Australian ranks.

But just when it looked like they had the match under control, a clutch of Zimbabwe batsmen threw away their wickets to leave Johnson in the lurch. Johnson reached a memorable century (11 fours, 1 six, 118 balls) in the 43rd over. But he was left with too much to do and with too little support from the other end.

Zimbabwe's loss, narrow as it was, must be causing Pakistan sleepless nights. Should Zimbabwe win that encounter, scheduled for The Oval on Friday, Pakistan may have to wind their way home. A fate that now seems reserved for India too.

The Australians now have four points with one match to go. The Zimbabweans are stuck with five.

Australia vs Zimbabwe at The Lord's

Zimbabwe won the toss and elected tofield

Australia

Adam Gilchrist lbw b Johnson 10 28 1/
Missed line of an in-cutter)
Mark Waugh c Goodwin b Johnson 104 120 13/0
(Flicked straight to square-leg)
Ricky Ponting b Olonga 36 35 4/0
(Played on trying to hit on the up)
Darren Lehmann retd hurt 6 8 0/0
Steve Waugh b Whittal 62 61 5/2
(Missed line trying to heave over mid-wicket)
Michael Bevan not out 37 35 2/0
Tom Moody not out 20 22 0/1
Extras (lb6, w13, nb9) 28
Total (4 wickets, 50 overs) 303
Did not bat: Shane Warne, Paul Reiffel, Damien Fleming, Glenn McGrath.
Fall of wickets: 1-18 (Gilchrist, 6.2 overs), 2-74 (Ponting, 14.1), 3-226 (S Waugh, 38.5), 4-248 (M Waugh, 42.5)
Bowling: Johnson 8-0-43-2 (1nb, 3w); Streak 10-0-50-0 (2nb, 1w); Olonga 7-0-62-1 (5nb, 1w), G Whittal 4-0-24-1 (2w), Strang 10-1-47-0 (1w), A Whittal 8-1-51-0 (1nb, 1w), G Flower 3-0-20-0
Zimbabwe

Neil Johnson not out 132 144 14/2
Grant Flower lbw b McGrath 21 32 1/0
Murray Goodwin c Moody bBevan 47 56 7/0
Andy Flower c Gilchrist b Reiffel 0 1 0/0
Alistair Campbell c Fleming b Reiffel 17 22 2/0
Guy Whittall c M Waugh b Reiffel 0 3 0/0
DP Viljoen st Gilchrist b Warne 5 13 0/0
Heath Streak not out 18 29 0/0
Extras (lb6, w13) 19
Total (6 wickets, 50 overs) 259
Did not bat: Paul Strang, Andy Whittall, Henry Olonga.
Fall of wickets: 1-39 (G Flower, 10.1); 2-153 (Goodwin, 28.2); 3-154 (A Flower, 29.1); 4-188 (Campbell, 35.2); 5-189 (G Whittall, 35.5); 6-200 (Viljoen, 38.5).
Bowling: McGrath 10-1-33-1 (2w); Fleming 10-0-46-0 (3w); Warne 9-0-55-1 (1w); Reiffel 10-0-55-3 (4w); Moody 6-0-38-0; Bevan 5-1-26-1 (2w).
Result: Australiawon by 44 runs
Man of the Match: Neil Johnson (Zimbabwe)