Ilyas Najib: The Taylor/Elliott partnership reminds me of Imran/Miandad in the 1992 final, can New Zealand do a Pakistan? I hope so.

Karim: But can McCullum do it on a sunny afternoon at the MCG?!

More accumulation from Taylor and Elliott - three more singles added.

And one of those esoteric statistics that crop up during these tournaments has, well, cropped up - New Zealand win 84% of ODIs outside Asia when they have at least one century stand. Which they now have...

Image source, Getty Images

So, who has been your player of the tournament? We've just opened up a vote which you'll find to the right of the page on desktop, or via the vote tab on mobile and tablet. The usual conditions apply. Get voting.

The MCG stadium DJ (briefly typed MCJ there, must have been thinking of Mark Nicholas) plays a burst of "Gangnam Style" during the drinks break, but Elliott Style is doing New Zealand very well at the moment - he delicately angles his bat to ramp Josh Hazlewood over the wicketkeeper for four, before a single brings up the century stand.

Image source, EPA

Allan Border
Ex-Australia captain on BBC Test Match Special

"It's been a good fightback. The referral which got changed was a crucial point and Grant Elliott and Ross Taylor have given New Zealand a launching pad for the rest of their innings."

Listen to TMS commentary via the audio tab.

After that brief two-over burst of Mitchell Johnson, Australia turn back to the medium-fast Shane Watson. He's pretty miserly, old Watto (playing his fourth World Cup) - two singles from it takes the partnership to 95, and time for drinks. Still bright and sunny at the MCG - Messrs Duckworth and Lewis will hopefully remain under wraps.

And for those of you trying to keep track, the Maxwell-Faulkner-Watson axis has now contributed 15 of the 20 overs they'll be expected to send down.

Keith Downey: Bigger is not always better and personally I would hate to see games in large soulless football stadiums designed for a completely different sort of game. We have fantastic cricket grounds in England and we need to help the counties and not take vital revenue away from them. Anything can happen in this game yet. West Indies were in trouble early on in 79, a game I was lucky to be at, and the 83 final was a very low scoring one.

Elliott uses the MCG's long square boundaries well, running Maxwell through the covers for a two and a single, while both batsmen keep long-on gainfully employed by tapping the ball there for three successive singles. Taking it carefully for now, but there's a powerplay on the horizon. Although that may mean the return of Mitchell Starc...

Image source, Getty Images

Stephan Shemilt
BBC Sport in Melbourne

"Earlier in the tournament, I was at Auckland and a young lad, about four or five, had a New Zealand shirt with 'Elliott 88' on the back. To me, it seemed like an odd choice. I reasoned that the boy's name may have been Elliott, or that he may even have been Grant's son. It turns out the youngster was just way ahead of me in picking a Kiwi hero. Grant Elliott, by the way, missed his sister's wedding on Friday to prepare for this match."

Johnson in for his sixth over, New Zealand plunder five singles. This stand is worth 87 - a number traditionally unlucky for Australians.

The World Cup returned to Asia in 1996, as Sri Lanka - who co-hosted with India and Pakistan - finally put themselves on the cricketing map.

While West Indies and Australia forfeited games after refusing to play in Sri Lanka on security grounds, the Sri Lanka openers Sanath Jayasuriya and Romesh Kaluwitharana blitzed other teams with their aggressive hitting in the first 15 overs.

Though the openers failed in the semi-final and final, it was the turn of elegant right-hander Aravinda de Silva to shine, hitting 66 in the semi and a match-winning 107 not out in the final after Sri Lanka's quartet of spinners - including De Silva, the emerging Muttiah Muralitharan and future international umpire Kumar Dharmasena - had strangled Australia.

Final (Lahore): Sri Lanka beat Australia by seven wickets

Image source, Getty Images

New Zealand 121-3 from 30 overs (NZ won toss)

Batsmen: Taylor 30 from 53 (2x4), Elliott 53 from 56 (3x4, 1x6)

Fall of wickets: 1-1 (McCullum 0), 33-2 (Guptill 15), 39-3 (Williamson 12)

Bowling figures: Starc 6-0-17-1, Hazlewood 7-2-22-0, Johnson 5-0-14-1, Maxwell 6-0-31-1, Faulkner 4-0-18-0, Watson 2-0-13-0

Listen to TMS commentary via the audio tab.

Scorecard

Maxwell, as the sole slow bowler in Australia's ranks, rattles through his over pretty quickly - as he probably needs to, to save them from an over-rate fine. Elliott helps himself to a two and a single, Taylor is content to play the anchor role.

Image source, Getty Images

Andrew Samson
BBC Test Match Special statistician

"Grant Elliott is the fifth man to score half-centuries both in a World Cup semi-final and final. Mike Brearley did it in 1979, David Boon in 1987, Javed Miandad in 1992 and Aravinda de Silva in 1996."

With this stand now worth 76, Australia turn back to the marauding Mitchell Johnson as they seek to break it. A slip is posted for Ross Taylor - playing in his third World Cup at the age of 31, having been responsible for some particularly entertaining innings during the 2011 tournament. Stepping towards the off side, he guides a single through backward point.

Kevin Pietersen
Ex-England batsman on BBC Test Match Special

"Grant Elliott has done a brilliant job to come in and resurrect this innings. He came in at a difficult time, with Mitchell Johnson steaming in and a catcher at short leg. He's weathered that storm well."

Faulkner off, Maxwell on as Australia rotate their second-string bowlers. Taylor and Elliott take it carefully, sweeping and dabbing, knocking easy singles to long-off and long-on, while profiting from a legside wide from the off-spinner. And a chip to long-off for one brings Elliott his ninth ODI fifty from 51 balls - and perhaps one of his most important.

Image source, Getty Images

Jordan Dunant: Elliott and Taylor showing how to rebuild an innings, reckon NZ will finish on 275.

Jay: It's surprising to see KP's views on B Mac, given that KP was the biggest beneficiary of the excuse 'This is the way I play'.

Ilyas Najib: New Zealand need to target Watson, he's the one of the weak links in the Australian bowling line-up.

Assuming that Starc, Hazlewood and Johnson will bowl their full allocation, Australia need to find 20 overs from a combination of Watson, Faulkner and Maxwell - they've managed 10 so far.

An Elliott single brings up the New Zealand hundred, while Taylor - whose strike rate is approximately half that of his partner - edges through the vacant slip cordon (roughly where second slip would have been) for four.

Umpire Richard Kettleborough signals a wide as Watson bangs in a bouncer, while another swipe to third man - this time from Elliott - brings him a two as there's a smart stop on the rope from Hazlewood.

Image source, Getty Images

Stephan Shemilt
BBC Sport in Melbourne

"Grant Elliott is doing what he did against South Africa. Absorb pressure, wait for the bad ball, drive through or over cover. For the first time, New Zealand fans are making themselves know. There's a chant of 'Let's go, Kiwis, let's go', with flags being waved in various corners of the MCG. How many do they need to challenge the Aussies?"