Centurion, Oct. 6: Australia survived a couple of early scares, riding a second hundred in a row by Shane Watson to ease home by six wickets over New Zealand at the SuperSport Park here on Monday night and retain the Champions Trophy title they had last won in Mumbai three years.

In doing so, Ricky Ponting’s team became the only ones to achieve the feat, which has so far seen a new winner at every edition. Watson blasted sixes off the first two balls of Jeetan Patel’s seventh over to race from 93 to 105, Australia winning with 4.4 overs to spare.

And as fireworks blazed into the chill Centurion night, the Aussie dressing room erupted with joy at a job well done.

Watson (105 not out, 129b, 10x4, 4x6) and Cameron White (62) calmed nerves in the dressing room with a partnership that began on a decidedly dicey note but picked up momentum till White fell in the 35th over. By then, the base had been laid and it was left to Watson to see the side home at 206/4 in the 46th over with James Hopes (22 not, 22b, 4x4).

New Zealand played a brave hand but were undone at the very last step by the late pullout of their inspirational captain Daniel Vettori. Both with bat and ball, his absence was keenly felt. Batting first after winning the toss, the Black Caps were held down to 200/9, their innings unable to find momentum at critical junctures.

With the ball, Shane Bond and Kyle Mills shook the Australians, not only dismissing opener Tim Paine and tournament top-scorer Ponting for one apiece. They then proceeded to repeatedly beat the bat in a searing display of swing bowling that had Watson and White groping at thin air.

Once the shine had gone off the ball and the first change bowlers brought on though, it was a different story. Ian Butler, James Franklin and Jeetan Patel were unable to maintain the pressure and though the partnership grew slowly, there was a steadiness to the run gathering that would have dismayed Kiwi supporters.

Watson benefitted tremendously by batting alongside Ponting in the semi-final against England and that new-found confidence was on show.

Despite the ball beating his bat with regularity particularly in the first 10-15 overs, Watson kept his head down and grafted.

At the other end, White too was a picture of concentration and the partnership survive a phase in which just one single came. The change bowlers however were soon to feel the heat.

Watson blasted sixes over his favourite mid-wicket boundary off Butler and Patel as the run-rate picked up, getting to his half-century from 74 balls with five boundaries and two sixes.

White too reached the landmark with a lofted straight six off Butler to reach his fifty shortly afterwards but was eventually ousted by Mills, who uprooted his stumps in the 35th over.

Watson and White put on 128 runs in just under 33 overs as the Aussies took the game away from their opponents on the back of Watson’s effort.

The form team of the tournament were never going to be denied and Ponting had made it an article of faith to win this event from the time the Aussies landed here.

And when it really mattered, the Black Caps found themselves critically handicapped by the hamstring injury that kept their captain out.

Earlier, the Kiwis struggled to set a half-decent target, finishing their 50 overs with just 200/9 on the board.

Brett Lee, Peter Siddle and Mitchell Johnson made good use of the conditions to keep the pressure on the batsmen all the way through and though three batsmen got starts, they were not allowed to make much of them.