 Pakistan beat New Zealand to storm into Twenty20 final
22nd Sep 2007 23:00 IST
Agencies
Umar Gul emerged as wrecker-in-chief with his three-wicket haul before Imran Nazir blunted the New Zealand attack with a belligerent half century as Pakistan thumped the Kiwis by six wickets to storm into the final of the Twenty20 World Cup at Newlands in Cape Town today.
Batting first, New Zealand got a good start but first a rain-interruption and then Gul's devastating spell, left them gasping for breath. Ross Taylor top scored for the Kiwis with an unbeaten 37 but New Zealand could only manage 143/8 in their allotted 20 overs.
Chasing a modest target, Pakistan got off to a flying start with openers Nazir and Mohammad Hafeez stitching together a 60-run opening stand in just seven overs, which laid the foundation for a facile win.
After restricting the Kiwis to a modest total, Pakistan looked in a hurry to wrap up the chase and opener Hafeez dropped the hint when he hit Shane Bond for a four in the first delivery of the innings.
Nazir (59, 41b, 3x4, 5x6) made his intention clear too, hitting Mark Gillespie for three boundaries in the next over. The duo then started dealing in sixes with Bond, Daniel Vettori and Gillespie at the receiving end of their fury.
The partnership was broken by Scott Styris, who did the trick with his first delivery that rapped Hafeez on his pad and Pakistan lost their first wicket at 60 in 7.1 overs.
Jeetan Patel eventually removed Nazir by trapping him leg before and in the next over, Vettori had Younis Khan (4) stumped but the irreparable damage was done by then.
Bond cut short Shahid Afridi's (6) stay but Shoaib Malik (26) and Misbah-ul-Haq (16) guided the team to victory with seven balls to spare. Malik hit Patel for a huge six over midwicket to score the winning runs.
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