Pakistan beat Ireland move to semi-final
Elmo Rodrigopulle reporting
Kennington Oval, London, Monday - Pakistan stayed on course for
semi-final berth in the ICC World Cup Twenty20 when they beat Ireland by
39 runs in their Super Eight final game here, today.
Their victory was made possible by a fine half century and two
stumping from Kamran Akmal who was the man of the match and some tight
bowling from Umer Gul 2 for 19 who has always been among the wickets and
Saeed Ajmal 4 for 19.
The Irish batsmen found them unplayable with only captain William
Porterfield 40 from 36 balls with 2 fours and Kevin O’Brien 26 and Paul
Stirling 17 entering double figures. It was a sad batting performance
from the Irish. The weather was sunny and cloudy when the Pakistanis
began their innings after winning the toss. Pakistan was also looking
for a win to stay in the competition.
They have now been strengthened with the inclusion of all-rounder
Abdur Razzaq who has returned to the fold after an unsuccessful stint
with the outlawed Indian Cricket League (ICL). The aggressive Kamran
Akmal opened with the stylish right hander Shahzaib Hassan who has been
slotted in, in place of left hander Salman Butt who has failed to be in
the runs.
The openers put on a stand of 38 before Hassan went for 23 with 3
fours and a six in 19 balls. Every other batsmen who took strike entered
double figures. Sahid Afridi who came in one drop could not step on the
gear with his big hitting and made 24 in 13 with 3 fours.Skipper Younus
Khan was a big disappointment unable to get going and made only 10.
Misbah ul Haq 20 in 20 and Abdur Razzack 15, helped the side to 159 for
5 in their 20. W.K.McCallan had the best figures of 2 for 26.
Akmal was a study in concentration and he played one of his best
innings to get a half century - 57 in 51 balls with 5 fours and a nicely
timed six.There were 13 fours and 4 sixes in the Pakistani innings.The F
Group points standing is as follows-
Pakistan has won two of The F Group points standing is as follows-
Pakistan has won two oftheir three games in group F. But are more likely
to qualify to the semis thanks to their better run rate. Sri Lanka has
won two games, but a win against New Zealand will see Lanka through to
the semis. All depends on the nett run rate.
PAKISTAN
Kamran Akmal b Johnston 57
Shahzaib Hasan c McCallan b Cusack 23
Shahid Afridi c Mooney b McCallan 24
Younus Khan b West 10
Misbah-ul-Haq c N O’Brien b McCallan 20
Abdul Razzaq not out 15
Shoaib Malik not out 4
Extras (lb3, w2, nb1) 6
TOTAL (5 wkts) 159
Fall of wickets: 1-38, 2-78, 3-102, 4-133, 5-141.
Bowling: Rankin 4-0-11-0; Johnston 4-0-45-1 (1nb, 1w); Cusack 4-0-41-1; West 4-0-33-1 (1w); McCallan 4-0-26-2.
IRELAND
W. Porterfield c Younus b Ajmal 40
N. O’Brien c and b Aamir 7
P. Stirling b Afridi 17
K. O’Brien st Akmal b Ajmal 26
J. Mooney c Razzaq b Ajmal 2
T. Johnston b Gul 0
A. White b Gul 5
A. Cusack st Akmal b Ajmal 2
K. McCallan not out 2
R. West run out (Gul) 1
B. Rankin not out 5
Extras(b1, lb7, w3, nb2) 13
TOTAL (9 wkts) 120
Fall of wickets: 1-13, 2-42, 3-87, 4-93, 5-99, 6-108, 7-110, 8-110, 9-111.
Bowling: Aamir 4-0-19-1 (1w); Razzaq 3-0-18-0; Afridi 4-0-26-1 (1w);
Ajmal 4-0-19-4 (1w); Malik 1-0-11-0; Gul 4-0-19-2 (2nb). |
