Pakistan Crush to Newzealand by 138 1st ODI

Shahid Afridi hit an aggressive half-century and took two wickets to cap Pakistan's 138-run win over New Zealand in the first day-night international here on Tuesday.

Afridi's 50-ball 71 supplemented by Kamran Akmal's undefeated 43-ball 67 and Khalid Latif's steady maiden fifty lifted Pakistan to an imposing 287-9 before they shot New Zealand out for 149 in the 40th over.

The victory, which gave Pakistan a 1-0 lead in the three-match one-day series, was also a sweet revenge for the winners who lost to New Zealand in the Champions Trophy semi-final last month.

The remaining two matches will be played here on Friday and Monday, before the two teams move to Dubai for two Twenty20 internationals on November 12 and 13.

Chasing a daunting target, New Zealand were never on course as Gul shook them by bowling Brendon McCullum (21) and Martin Guptill (four) by the tenth over.

Teenager Mohammad Aamir accounted for Ross Taylor (nought) and Abdul Razzaq sent Scot Styris (five) back as New Zealand reeled at 50-4.

Aaron Redmond (52) and Daniel Vettori (38) provided the only resistance during a 69-run fifth wicket stand before five wickets fell for 10 runs.

Earlier, it was Akmal who gave Pakistan's innings the final touches with a belligerent 43-ball 67 laced with four sixes and five boundaries as Pakistan ran rampant, making 107 in the last ten overs.

He built on vice-captain Afridi's innings, who was instrumental in initially stepping up the run-rate with his bold hitting as he smashed three sixes and four boundaries during his 30th half-century.

Afridi added 101 runs for the fifth wicket with Latif after New Zealand paceman Shane Bond dismissed opener Salman Butt and Younus - both without scoring - in his incisive five-over spell.

Latif, who scored 19 in his only previous one-day match in January last year, was also involved in a 57-run stand for the third wicket with Mohammad Yousuf, who shaped well for his 30 before being run out.

Afridi hit Vettori for a six before smashing two off successive deliveries off Nathan McCullum. He hit Bond for a straight drive to reach his half-century off 36 deliveries, his first in 33 matches.

Afridi's last ODI fifty came against Zimbabwe at Multan last year.

Latif hit only two boundaries during his 112-ball knock.

Kamran's innings was special as he made full use of the power-play, and added 86 off just 37 balls for the seventh wicket with Abdul Razzaq, who made 20-ball 26.

Pakistan win the toss 2nd Semi Final

Toss Pakistan chose to bat v New Zealand

Pakistan welcomed back Imran Nazir and Mohammad Aamer, and Younis Khan won the toss and asked Nazir to pad up right away to make first use of a pitch that both captains thought good for batting. Nazir took Misbah-ul-Haq's place, and Aamer came in for Mohammad Asif.

Pakistan's formula in big matches has always been to bat first and get runs on the board, which they didn't deviate from, and they also have the bowling to defend slightly below-par totals too.

New Zealand received good news, too, in that Grant Elliott cleared the last-minute fitness test, and kept his place. In their must-win match against England, Elliot had taken four wickets before sustaining a hand injury.

This was the seventh time these teams were meeting in a tournament semi-final: Pakistan were 5 and 1 in the previous encounters.

Pakistan captain prays for "two more good days"

Pakistan captain Younus Khan is looking for "two more good days" in the Champions Trophy as his team clash with New Zealand in the semi-final here on Saturday.

Pakistan have never reached the final of this competition, but Younus said Friday the team were capable of breaking the jinx if they played to their potential in the day-night match.

"After winning the Twenty20 World Cup in England this year, we are now in the semi-finals here. We need two more good days," Younus told reporters on the eve of the match.

"If that happens, it will be very nice for me and fantastic for Pakistan. We need a couple of big titles."

Younus said he did not believe the advantage was with New Zealand, who had beaten Sri Lanka and England in league matches at the Wanderers here.

"I don't think any team has an edge over the other, especially in the semi-final or final. There's nothing like that these days," he said.

"If we play our natural game tomorrow and stick to our plans, I think we will be through. It'll be fantastic if we reach the final."

The Pakistan skipper said his team needed to put in a disciplined performance against New Zealand who were in good form.

"They are a good side. They are fantastic, especially their fielding. Whenever they are under pressure they play like a team," said Younus.

"They have a couple of good all-rounders. Their captain is always fantastic with the ball and now he is also batting well. I think it will be a good game."

New Zealand were sweating over the fitness of all-rounder Grant Elliott, who is suffering from a thumb injury. The seamer was named man of the match for taking four wickets in his team's victory over England.

"He took part in training this morning, but we'll leave it till the last possible minute before making a decision," said New Zealand captain Daniel Vettori.

New Zealand, who have already lost Jesse Ryder, Daryl Tuffey and Jacob Oram to injuries, summoned all-rounder Scott Styris as cover for Elliott.

Vettori said his team were not short of confidence going into the big match against Pakistan.

"Momentum is with us, I think. It's a much more preferable way to go into the semi-final knowing we've won two big games. We go into the match with confidence," said Vettori.

"The Wanderers has been good for us. We always felt confident of making the semi-finals and backed our chances. This is a real test for us now.

"Personally, it will be one of the most satisfying things I could achieve in my career if I lead New Zealand in the final and you never know what can happen after that."

New Zealand have often fallen in the semi-finals of big tournaments, like the 2006 Champions Trophy in India and the 2007 World Cup in the Caribbean.

"We want to go past that. We want to change the script a little bit," said Vettori, a day after New Zealand won the International Cricket Council (ICC) Spirit of Cricket award.

"That will be the ultimate if we can couple that with a major tournament. If we win a major tournament, it'll be a great achievement for us.

"We know they (Pakistan) are a very good side and hope we can catch them on an off-day."

Younus Said Losing to Australia can help us

Pakistan captain Younus Khan was unfazed by his side?s loss to Australia in their final Champions Trophy round-robin match Wednesday, which he felt was probably a good thing as they head into the knockout stage.

Australia?s two-wicket win off the last ball at SuperSport Park placed them at the top of Group A and the title holders will face England in Centurion Friday while Pakistan play Group B winners New Zealand at the Wanderers on Saturday.

But while the game was turned on its head in the last 10 overs with Pakistan?s bowlers ripping through the Australian middle order, Pakistan should have been thumped.

Showing little intent of putting up a big total when batting first, having already qualified for the play-offs, they reached a modest 205-6 after losing the toss, and only the late collapse of the Australian middle-order brought them back into the game.

But Younus said he wasn?t worried about their first loss of the competition, as long as it didn?t come in a more crucial encounter.

"It?s nothing because sometimes you win all the games in the first stage and then suddenly you lose a big game," Younus said.

"So it?s good for us, not like some other teams, like South Africa and Sri Lanka in the last World T20, who won all their games and then lost the big games.

"I think sometimes it?s good for your team. This game was very close and maybe everybody thought Australia were going to win, so it was a shock for us and a shock for everyone."

Younus said he had been confident that his bowlers could defend the total they put up, giving credit in particular to Shahid Afridi, Saeed Ajmal, Rana Naved-ul-Hasan and Mohammad Asif, back in action after a one-year ban.

Australia captain Ricky Ponting, however, had been almost certain of coasting to victory when he was removed by Shoaib Malik for 32. At that stage Australia needed only 66 runs from 112 balls with seven wickets in hand.

Michael Hussey anchored the innings with 64 runs from 87 balls but after he was removed in the 41st over, Australia crumbled and eventually needed 19 from 25 balls with only two wickets in hand.

And while the tail hung on for the narrowest of victories, Ponting admitted he never expected Pakistan to fight back so well.

"I didn?t think it would go this close when we had 20 overs left," he admitted.

Australia beat Pakistan in a thriller

Australia stopped India's progress to the Champions Trophy semi-finals with a thrilling two-wicket win over Pakistan in the Group A match at the SuperSport Park here Wednesday.

Chasing a modest Pakistani total of 205 for six after deciding to field, Australia from 140 for two in 32nd over lost six wickets for 40 runs to bring the match down to the wire.
Brett Lee (12 not out) with Nathan Hauritz (9 not out) took the winning run for the defending champions in the last ball. Man of the match Michael Hussey was the best batsman for Australia, hitting 64 off 87 balls.
The Pakistani bowlers, especially Naved-ul-Hasan (1-39) and Saeed Ajmal, were particularly impressive in the death overs. And so was Mohammad Asif, returning to international cricket after completing his 12-month dope ban, with figures of 2-34.
They were instrumental in wreaking havoc in the Australian side who were looking comfortably poised to reach the total. But once skipper Ricky Ponting (32) was caught by Umar Gul off Shoaib Malik, to make it 140 for three, the Australian batting went spiraling downhill.
Hussey stabled the rot, his innings including six fours and a six, but once he departed in the 41st over, the Australians fell like ninepins.
Lee and Huauritz survived the swing and spin of the Pakistani bowlers, who had suddenly came alive after the unexpected turn around, pushing for singles rather than going for the boundaries. With Australia needing four off the last over, the two rotated the strike well to see their side into the semi-finals.
India were hoping Pakistan would beat Australia to stay alive in the tournament. But that was not to be. Pakistan's defeat has thus rendered the outcome of the India-West Indies match at the New Wanderers stadium later in the day meaningless.
Australia's win also means they are now on top of Group A and will face England in the semi-final at the same venue Friday. Pakistan too are in the semi-finals and will take on New Zealand at the Wanderers Saturday.
Earlier, Mitchell Johnson (2-45) and Shane Watson (2-32) troubled the Pakistani batsmen from the start and were well complemented by Brett Lee and James Hopes who took a wicket each.
Among the Pakistani batsmen, only Mohammed Yousuf (45), Kamran Akmal (44) and Misbah-ul-Haq (41) could weather the Australian attack.

I try to give my best against India: Malik

Pakistani batsman Shoaib Malik has attributed his match-winning innings against India in Centurion to the fact that he always tries to give his best against arch-rival India.
“My record against India speaks for itself. I try to give my best against India and that is why I have been able to score four out of seven of my hundreds against them,” The News quoted Malik, as saying.
Malik said he and partner Mohammad Yousuf mainly concentrated on the cover area to steal as many runs as possible.
“When India started the bowling they were bowling within the stumps. But then they started bowling outside the off stump. So we were able to accelerate,” he said.
“I feel that Dhoni held back Harbhajan because we were three wickets down. I feel that if Harbhajan Singh was brought into the attack earlier it would have been better for India,” he added.
Malik hoped that his good form would continue for the rest of the championship.
“You feel satisfaction if your team wins because of your efforts,” he said.

Pakistan was won 5th ODI 132 runs against Sri Lanka

Mohammad Aamer and an inconsistent-but-smart Naved-ul-Hasan sent Sri Lanka crashing to what was very nearly their worst-ever ODI defeat at home. Naved earlier gave Pakistan's total a boost with hefty hitting in the final overs, after Pakistan had threatened to let half-centuries from Younis Khan and Misbah-ul-Haq go to waste. Sri Lanka however, took the series having already won the first three matches.

This was also the 10th straight time that a side batting first won at the R Premadasa Stadium. It can't be ascertained if it was just the conditions, but the Pakistan pace bowlers were way better than their Sri Lankan counterparts. Aamer and Naved got more movement, and demonstrated better control and variation.

Aamer set the agenda with the first ball, a brute that injured Upul Tharanga's middle finger. Even if the finger wasn't broken, the spirit was as he played and missed at an away-swinger next. The third ball, short and climbing into Tharanga, duly produced the edge. Even before the returning Sanath Jayasuriya could cause any damage, Naved flummoxed him with a superb slower delivery, putting the onus squarely on Mahela Jayawardene and Kumar Sangakkara.

They added 35 in 37 deliveries, targeting Naved, before the veteran bowler fooled Sangakkara too with a slower one. Even before Sri Lanka could recover from that blow, Jayawardene edged an angling delivery from Aamer, finishing the match - at 58 for 4 - for all practical purposes.

Aamer and Naved, though, proceeded to take out whatever life remained in the contest. Aamer did away with Chamara Kapugedera and Angelo Mathews in his next two overs, while Naved came back to take out Nuwan Kaulasekara and Dammika Prasad. Kulasekara's dismissal was a splendid effort by Misbah, diving forward at first slip, giving him his third catch of the innings. Aamer finished with a career-best effort and Naved reached 100 wickets in ODIs.

Thilina Kandamby and Malinga Bandara delayed the inevitable, but the record for the highest successful chase at the Premadasa Stadium never really came under threat. That Pakistan got to that total was largely due to the responsible fifties from Younis and Misbah.
Pakistan 279 for 8 (Younis 76, Misbah 73*) beat Sri Lanka 147 (Aamer 4-28, Naved 4-44) by 132 runs.