Misbah-ul-Haq shines for Pakistan
An unbeaten 93 by Misbah-ul-Haq paved the way for a narrow two-wicket
Pakistan victory over New Zealand with an over to spare in the fourth
one-day international Tuesday.
The win put Pakistan 2-1 up in the six-match series with one game
abandoned as both sides fine-tune ahead of this month’s World Cup.
Set a modest target of 263 to win on a track described by captain
Shahid Afridi as “heaven for a batsman” Pakistan appeared to have
misjudged their run chase, despite Misbah’s heroics, as the match headed
for a tense finish. But tailender Sohail Tanvir took control, arriving
in the middle with two overs remaining, two wickets left and 13 runs
required to secure a slim victory.
Sohail did not give Misbah a chance to reach his century as he
smacked 14 off Tim Southee in the penultimate over to settle the
outcome.
It was a match with a familiar feel for New Zealand as their
specialist batsmen failed on a track where 300 is considered par and it
was left to the middle and tail order to bolster the tally.
After winning the toss and electing to bat first, New Zealand captain
Daniel Vettori had reason to feel his decision was justified as Martin
Guptill (21) and Jamie How (13) raced to 40 in the seventh over. But the
innings soon fell apart in the face of a lethal spell from Wahab Riaz
and Abdul Razzaq.
In the space of two overs New Zealand lost three wickets for four
runs and then stumbled to five for 79. NAPIER, AFP
SCORECARD
NEW ZEALAND
M. Guptill c Younis Khan b Riaz 21
J. How c Umar Akmal b Razzaq 13
R. Taylor c Younis Khan b Riaz 04
S. Styris run out (Gul/Hafeez) 11
K. Williamson c Younis Khan b Mohammed Hafeez 15
J. Franklin c Wahab Riaz b Afridi 62
B. McCullum c Kamran Akmal b Wahab Riaz 37
N. McCullum not out 53
D. Vettori not out 13
Extras (lb 12, w 19, nb 2) 33
Total (7 wkts; 50 overs) 262
Fall of wickets: 1-40, 2-44, 3-44, 4-68, 5-79, 6-141, 7-205.
Bowling: Sohail Tanvir 9-0-67-0 (3w), Abdul Razzaq 7-3-16-1, Wahab Riaz
10-1-51-3 (1nb, 6w),
Umar Gul 7-0-49-0 (1nb, 4w), Mohammad Hafeez
7-0-25-1 (2w), Shahid Afridi 10-0-42-1.
PAKISTAN
Mohammad Hafeez c Taylor b Bennett 12
Ahmed Shehzad c Taylor b Styris 42
Kamran Akmal c Taylor b Styris 20
Younis Khan run out (N. McCullum/ B. McCullum) 42
Misbah-ul-Haq not out 93
Umar Akmal c N. McCullum b Vettori 10
Shahid Afridi lbw Vettori 04
Abdul Razzaq c Vettori b Bennett 23
Wahab Riaz c B. McCullum b Styris 00
Sohail Tanvir not out 14
Extras (lb 3, w 1) 04
Total (8 wkts; 49 overs) 264
Fall of wickets: 1-43, 2-71, 3-84, 4-173, 5-194, 6-198, 7-238, 8-250.
Did not bat: Umar Gul
Bowling: Southee 10-0-70-0 (1w), Bennett 10-0-48-2, N. McCullum
4-0-26-0, Vettori 10-0-48-2, Styris 9-0-40-3, Franklin 6-0-29-0. |
