Re: World Cup U-19: Pakistan Watch
Pakistan crush hapless New Zealand
Cricinfo staff
February 10, 2006
Pakistan 78 for 2 beat New Zealand 77 (Anwar Ali 5-34) by eight wickets
Defending champions Pakistan charged into the last eight of the Under-19 World Cup as they routed New Zealand by eight wickets with the match finishing before the scheduled lunch break. New Zealand were dismissed for just 77 after winning the toss, and Pakistan then knocked off the required runs in just 8.5 overs and the whole game was wrapped up in three hours.
The win sends Pakistan into the last eight of the tournament where they will face the winners of the England-Zimbabwe clash on Saturday. For New Zealand there is the knowledge they have failed to qualify for the Super League for the first time in their history and they will now take part in the Plate Championship where they will face Ireland on Tuesday.
Conditions were extremely helpful for the Pakistan bowlers following heavy overnight rain that flooded the ground but the bowlers still had to exploit those conditions and Pakistan had two players who did just that. Anwar Ali and Jamshaid Ahmed were the chief wreckers in an innings that lasted just 24 overs.
Anwer took 5 for 34 in a full ten-over spell while Jamshaid Ahmed took 3 for 14 from nine overs. The only other bowler used was fellow seamer Akhtar Ayub and he picked up 1 for 23 in five overs.
To his credit, New Zealand coach Dipak Patel did not blame those conditions as a major factor in his side’s collapse. “The toss did have a bearing [on the result],” he said. “But it was probably not the main excuse. There was a bit of dampness around but none of the rain got on the pitch. There was some very good bowling but perhaps our shot selection was not great and we did not handle the moving ball.”
Only two New Zealand batsmen reached double figures - opener Todd Astle, New Zealand’s form batsman of the tournament so far, with 12, and Roneel Hira who struck a defiant 28 not out. Extras contributed 17 to the total, including six wides and five no-balls. New Zealand did have the consolation of avoiding the lowest total of the tournament so far, an honour that remains with Uganda who made 74 against Pakistan on Monday.
New Zealand’s total was disastrous but it could have been a lot worse for them as, at one stage, they were 17 for 6. They reached 13 for 0 before the bowlers broke through with Jamshaid removing Martin Guptill (1) and Marc Ellison (0) while Anwer dismissed Shaun Fitzgibbon (1), Andrew de Boorder (0) and Kieran Noema-Barnett (6).
Colin Munro was drafted in as Supersub to replace Hamish Bennett when the seventh wicket went down but he managed just one scoring shot - albeit a six - before Anwer got him as well. Astle was the other one of Anwer’s victims, one of two catches behind the stumps for Pakistan captain Safaraz Ahmed, who must have been thankful for winning the toss. Hira’s defiance was one of the few positives to come out of the innings for New Zealand as he struck two fours and a six in a 60-ball innings that spanned 90 tough minutes at the crease.
Pakistan had a small target to chase but they made quick work of it as Ali Khan struck an unbeaten 30 from only 29 balls to see his side home. Tim Southee (1 for 25) and Hira (1 for 3) took the wickets for New Zealand but the bowlers faced a near-hopeless task after the failures of their batsmen.
Pakistan coach Mansoor Rana was ecstatic at the way his players had dealt with the pressure of their must-win match. “This is what these boys are capable of doing,” he said. “They can embarrass you like they did against Bangladesh when we collapsed but they can do this as well and if we can do this then we are capable of doing it against anyone. There is no chance of us giving up the World Cup without a fight as we are here for that purpose. The boys are going to do their best as they have done today and now we must carry on because every game is a final and we must give it our maximum.”
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