Eurosport - Mon, 15 Jun 08:58:00 2009
A blow-by-blow account of how Pakistan kept alive their World Twenty20 hopes with a crucial win over New Zealand.
14.1 Pakistan 100- 4 (N. McCullum 2-/-/-/-/-/) There it is! Afridi slashes one way up into the evening air it bounces between Butler and McCullum and Pakistan claim a vital six wicket victory!
13 Pakistan 98-4 (Franklin 2-2-4-3-0-2) Vettori heads off the pitch - he wasn't fully fit in the first place and with his bowling finished for the evening, his work is done for the evening. Afridi steps up the pace this over, smashing 11 off the first four balls! The over ends with Pakistan needing just two more runs to win!
12 Pakistan 85-4 (Vettori 1-1-0-1-0-1) Pakistan are playing with composure now - they're just picking off the singles as and when they're available. And that should be enough to see them win this game. Fifteen needed at the end of the 12th over.
11 Pakistan 81-4 (Butler 2-0-0-1-1-4) Afridi clips off his toes for two on the leg side early in the over before pulling Butler for a one-bounce four at the end of it! Pakistan back in control - they need just 17 now with 54 balls remaining!
10 Pakistan (Vettori 1-w-0-1-1-0) Just 30 runs needed now but Shaoib loses his cool and pops out to Brendan McCullum on the second ball of the over! This one may not be over just yet! In comes Pakistan's captain Younus Khan and he gets off the mark pretty soon with a nice sweep for a single.
9 Pakistan 70-3 (N. McCullum w-4-0-1-0-4) Another wicket for New Zealand! Brendan McCullum runs out Shahzaib (35 off 28) by an inch after a quick pick up and throw to McGlashan! Afridi comes in and with his first shot, he paddle sweeps for four before Shoib repeats the feat on the final ball of the over!
8 Pakistan (Vettori 0-0-1-0-1-w) Breakthrough for New Zealand as Abdul Razzaq (5) gets the faintest of edges on Vettori's delivery! McGlashan takes it well behind the stumps and Pakistan lose a second wicket! In comes Shoaib Malik...
7 Pakistan 59-1 (Mills 0-1-0-0-4-0) Young Shahzaib goes on the attack once again, pulling another four to move onto 34 not out off 25 balls. Just 41 is needed with 13 overs left to get them in.
6 Pakistan 54-1 (Butler 0-4-6-4-0-0) What an over for Pakistan off Butler's first over! Shahzaib pulls for a one-bounce four before cutting for six more and another four off his legs. So far, it's been Pakistan's night!
5 Pakistan 40-1 (Mills 6-w-3-1-0-0) Another six! This one is lofted by Akmal back over the bowler's head but on the next ball he's dismissed going for another big shot! It comes up short and Guptill takes the catch! Abdul Razzaq comes in and gets off the mark straight away with a neat drive through the covers for three. A nice round 60 needed of 90 balls now.
4 Pakistan 30-0 (Vettori 2-2-6-0-0-wd-0) Vettori brings himself into the attack and Shahzaib goes after him straight away with a hit over the top which, with so many men inside the ring, he gets away with. Another two later and he really picks the ball out to hammer the first six of the Pakistan innings!
3 Pakistan 19-0 (Mills 0-nb-4-0-0-0-1) You can see why his team-mates call him Andy Murray - Mills is the spitting image of the tennis star! Anyway, he no-balls to prompt a free hit for Shahzaib Hasan, who duly knocks a four down to the fine leg boundary!
2 Pakistan 13-0 (Franklin 0-2-0-0-0-4) Akmal picks up another two as Mills dives on the ball at the boundary ropes before lofting a square cut over the fielders in the ring to register a four. Decent enough start by Pakistan.
1 Pakistan 7-0 (Mills 0-0-0-2-0-5) A mis-field by Butler on the boundary gives Akmal and Pakistan their first two runs of the innings before an attempted run-out hits the stumps and is diverted away to the boundary for five runs!
- Kamran Akmal and Shahzaib Hasan to open for Pakistan, while Mills is given the ball for the Kiwis.
So, a miserable 99 for New Zealand on what was billed as a batting pitch! Pakistan's hopes of staying in the tournament are very much alive!
19.3 NZ 99 all out (Razzaq 4-0-w-/-/-/) Vettori saves a little face for the batting side with a decent slog that finds the boundary on the on side. Vettori tries the same shot a ball later but there's a fielder - captain Younis Khan - there this time and his quick pick up and throw runs out Vettori to end the Kiwis innings!
18 NZ (Gul 0-0-w-w-1-1) ANOTHER WICKET FOR GUL! It's a perfect yorker which sees Franklin's stumps tumble! What a spell of bowling from the Pakistan man - his figures now read 4-4! Make that 5-4 as Mills goes the next ball! It's a poor shot as he spoons the ball straight into a safe pair of Pakistani hands! Butler wards off the hat-trick to leave Gul on 5-6 with one over for him to bowl!
17 NZ 93-7 (Ajmal 1-2-0-1-0-1) Solid over from Ajmal as Vettori and Franklin struggle to get anything away.
16 NZ 88-7 (Gul 1-2-1-w-0-0) Gul comes back from the other end and he sends McCullum's leg stump cartwheeling on the fourth ball of the over! 88-7 now and Gul has his third wicket of the day! In comes skipper Vettori, but he has a big job to salvage something from this innings.
15 NZ 84-6 (Ajmal 1-1-1-0-1-0) Gul's spell proves to be a short one as Ajmal comes back into the attack. Franklin takes one full in the grill after top edging the ball straight into his face and the over finishes well for Pakistan. Excellent bowling all round!
14 NZ 80-6 (Afridi 1-4-0-0-0-0) Franklin gets underway with a single before Afridi bowls another quick one - this time it's easily flicked away for four runs, right through a fielder at short fine leg. And that's a shame because the rest of his over is pretty much exemplary. Afridi finishes his spell with figures of 1-17.
13 NZ 74-6 (Gul 0-0-wd-w-w-1lb-0) WHAT A CATCH BY AFRIDI TO TAKE THE WICKET OF STYRIS! Running back towards the boundary, he takes the Kiwi's high slug over his shoulder - an almost impossible catch to take! And another wicket falls on the next ball as McGlashan is trapped lbw trying to sweep! 73-6 now and New Zealand are in real trouble! McCullum and Franklin at the crease.
12 NZ 72-4 (Afridi 1-1-0-1-2-3) How does that one not bowl McGlashan?! Afridi fires down a faster one which has the Kiwi batsman all over the place! But somehow the ball evades the stumps! Styris then picks up three on the last ball of the over as the Kiwis look to fight back!
11 NZ 64-4 (Malik 1-1-1-0-4-1) Malik's spin is called upon and for the most part Styris and McGlashan struggle to get him away. That is, until the latter finds a gap in the Pakistan field to register a rare boundary!
10 NZ 56-4 (Afridi 0-1-w-0-0-1) Oram is dismissed! Big Jake mistimes a straight drive and the ball flies high into the sky! Misbah-ul-Haq gets under it to take a very competent catch and the Kiwis are 55-4! McGlashan comes in and survives a big lbw shout on his first ball before he is totally fooled by the spin on his second! Superb over from Afridi!
9 NZ 54-3 (Ajmal 6-1-2-1-0-1) Styris powers a straight drive back over Ajmal's head! Gul can't quite reach it as the ball clears the boundary for the game's first six! Oram then picks up two with a neat paddle sweep before taking a single off the edge of his bat on the final ball over the over.
8 NZ 43-3 (Afridi 0-1-0-0-1-0) Styris struggles to get back into his crease as his little sweep is picked up quickly and pelted back towards the stumps! The decision gets referred upstairs but the third umpire rules not out!
7 NZ 41-3 (Ajmal 1-1-0-0-1-1) Ajmal into the attack and neither Styris nor Oram can get him away for more than the odd single this over. Good bowling from the right-arm spinner.
6 NZ 37-3 (Razzaq 0-lb-w-0-0-0) Another one for Pakistan! Guptill is trapped lbw by Razzaq, who seems to be getting better with every delivery, and the Kiwis are shaking at 37-3! What a start for Pakistan - just what they needed! In comes Oram to try and steady the ship.
5 NZ 36-2 (Aamer 0-w-0-0-1-2) Redmond goes for 15 and it's not even a decent ball that gets him - it's actually a full toss that he mis-hits to mid-on where Gul takes a simple catch! But they all count and Pakistan have two wickets after five overs!
4 NZ 33-1 (Razzaq 4-0-1-0-4-1) Guptill uses the pace of Razzaq's first delivery to find the boundary through mid-on before Redmond smashes the bowler back over his head for a another four!
3 NZ 23-1 (Aamer 0-0-0-4-1-1) This is much better from Aamer as he has Redmond in a bit of difficulty during the first three balls of the over! But Redmond then finds the boundary with a one-handed cut shot to calm his nerves.
2 NZ 17-1 (Razzaq 1-1-1-w-0-0) McCullum goes! He attacks a square drive but it's in the air slightly and Alam takes the catch! That's the danger man gone! Guptill comes in to replace him, but listen to the Pakistanis in the crowd! They're going nuts!
1 NZ 14-0 (Aamer 4-2-1-2-1-4) Well, that's a pretty good start for the Kiwis as McCullum smashes through the off side for four! Redmond then capitalises on some poor fielding to grab an overthrow before McCullum hooks to the boundary to cap off a fine opening over!
- And New Zealand: BB McCullum, AJ Redmond, MJ Guptill, SB Styris, JDP Oram, PD McGlashan, JEC Franklin, NL McCullum, IG Butler, KD Mills, DL Vettori
- Here's how Pakistan line up tonight: Kamran Akmal, Shahzaib Hasan, Younis Khan, Misbah-ul-Haq, Shoaib Malik, Shahid Afridi, Umar Gul, Abdul Razzaq, Saeed Ajmal, Fawad Alam, Mohammad Aamer
- Here come McCullum and Redmond head out to the crease to open the batting for New Zealand.
- And Vettori it is who flips the coin out in the middle... The Kiwi skipper wins the toss and opts to have a bat first!
- Team news: And it's good news for the Kiwis, who welcome back Vettori this evening for his first appearance of the tournament.
Comment 1 - 1 of 1
pakistan is the favourite team of this t20 and they can do anything
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