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All Time Great Championship: Could Have Been T20 Heroes

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  • #16
    Round 3 Results
    Round 3
    NZ lost to SA
    PAK defeated IND
    ENG lost to AUS
    SL lost to WI

    Current Standings
    Ladder Played Wins N/R NRR Total
    West Indies 3 3 1.42 6
    Australia 3 3 0.91 6
    England 3 2 0.98 4
    South Africa 3 2 0.18 4
    New Zealand 3 1 -0.56 2
    Pakistan 3 1 -1.63 2
    Sri Lanka 3 0 -1.28 0
    India 3 0 -1.32 0

    Tournament Stat Leaders
    Player Runs Bowler Wickets
    D Lehmann 125 J Garner 8
    V Richards 119 C Ambrose 7
    F Woolley 116 B Willis 7
    W Grace 116 F Trueman 7
    J Rhodes +
    D Bradman
    96 L Cairns 7

    Round 4 Fixture
    Round 4
    AUS vs PAK
    SA vs SL
    IND vs NZ
    WI vs ENG
    ​​​

    Comment


    • #17
      Game 13: Australia vs Pakistan
      Australia XI: M Waugh, M Slater, D Lehmann, D Bradman*, M Bevan, K Miller, D Tallon+, R Lindwall, S Warne, D Lillee, J Thomson
      Pakistan XI: S Anwar, S Elahi, Z Abbas, J Mianda, I Ahmed, I Khan*, W Raja, M Khan+, W Akram, A Qadir, W Younis
      Pakistan won the toss and elected to bat.

      Pakistan
      After a decent start from Anwar and Elahi with the bat, Lillee was the first bowler to strike to break the opening partnership. Abbas continued the openers' good start by scoring quickly. Unfortunately, after driving Lillee for 6, he edged the next ball to the keeper. Pakistan was on track to score the highest score of the tournament before Warnie came on to take a couple of wickets and dry up runs. After 10 overs, Pakistan were 4-85. Warne finished his four overs with four wickets. The Aussie quicks weren't able to clean up the tail so a few streaky boundaries from the likes of Akram gave Pakistan a total of 137 to defend.

      Pakistan 8-137

      Australia
      A 19-run over, thanks to some big hitting from M Waugh, got Australia off to a great start. Younis got Slater out before he got going but that just brought the tournament's leading run-scorer to the middle. Khan dismissed Waugh for 40 runs to keep things balanced for both teams. As Lehmann and Bradman have proved a couple of times already this tournament, they are an unbreakable force together. There was nothing over the top about the strokeplay and they reached the final over needing just five runs. Lehmann reverse-swept Raja for 4 to bring up the winning runs.

      Pakistan 8-137
      S Anwar 37, Z Abbas 24
      S Warne 4-23, D Lillee 2-37

      Australia 2-140
      D Lehmann 47 no, M Waugh 40
      I Khan 1-19, W Younis 1-32

      Australia won by 8 wickets
      S Warne was awarded Man of the Match.

      Comment


      • #18
        Game 14: South Africa vs Sri Lanka
        South Africa XI: K Wessels, B Richards, H Cronje, J Rhodes*, C Rice, A Faulkner, L Klusener, M Procter, D Richardson+, P Pollock, A Donald
        Pakistan XI: T Paravitana, S Jayantha, D Mendis, T Samaweera, A de Silva*, M Warnapura, U Chandana, R Kulatharana+, K Dharmasena, P Wickramasinghe, S de Silva

        Sri Lanka won the toss and elected to bowl first.

        South Africa
        Sri Lanka's tournament so far could just about be summarised by the first over: three boundaries and a dropped catch. Not the start to the tournament or match they were looking for. In his first match for the tournament, Wickramasinghe picked up the first breakthrough, removing Wessels and then Richards in the third over. That only seemed to spur the Proteas on as Conje and Rhodes came out swinging. They were on pace to be the first team to crack the 200 mark. The 80-run partnership was ended when Cronje skied Samaraweera to deep mid-off. Rhodes brought up a 30-ball half-century but at least there was a bit of reprieve for Sri Lanka with the boundaries. Sri Lanka managed to pick up a couple of late wickets, including the run out of Rhodes for 80, but South Africa reached 193 runs by the 20-over mark.

        South Africa 5-193

        Sri Lanka
        I don't think anyone was expecting Sri Lanka to win hear but they started by putting up a solid resistance and succeeded in protecting their wickets. Unfortunately, the only batsman who stuck around and made runs was Jayantha so the game quickly got out of control. Donald and Faulkner picked up a couple of wickets each but it was Pollock who tore through the remaining Sri Lankan batters taking a five-wicket haul to end the match early.

        South Africa 5-193
        J Rhodes 80, H Cronje 42
        P Wickramasinghe 3-38, T Samawareera 1-30

        Sri Lanka 116
        S Jayantha 33, T Paravitana 24
        P Pollock 5-19, A Donald 2-18

        South Africa won by 77 runs
        P Pollock was awarded Man of the Match.

        Comment


        • #19
          Game 15: India vs New Zealand
          India XI: S Ganguly, A Jadeja, M Azharuddin, A Malhotra, V Kambli, K Dev*, V Mankad, V Yadav+, J Srinath, B Bedi, A Kumble
          New Zealand XI: J Wright, G Turner, A Jones, M Crowe*, B Congdon, I Smith+, R Hadlee, C Harris, L Cairns, E Chatfield, J Saunders

          India won the toss and elected to bowl.

          New Zealand
          Dev fired up early knowing his team desperately needed to win this match to get themselves into the tournament and took it upon himself to dismiss Turner for a golden duck in the first over. A second wicket fell in the second over and India were off to a flier. It seemed easier to pick up a wicket than hit a boundary in the powerplay as New Zealand crumpled. Crowe ticked over the run rate a bit but they were still scoring less than six runs per over at the halfway point of the innings. Spin, especially from Mankad, dominated the middle overs. Crowe and Cairns put on a solid partnership to reach 130 for their team but both of them were dismissed in the final two overs, preventing them from taking New Zealand to a strong position.

          New Zealand 9-132

          India
          Yet another wicket fell in the first over. This time Hadlee had Ganguly caught at step. Fortunately, Azharuddin and Jadeja were able to capitalise on the restricted field to put India in a winning position early on. Harris finally broke the 90-run partnership, routing Azharuddinn for 45. After facing 40 balls, Jadeja brought up his second 50 of the tournament but didn't add any further runs before being dismissed. Malhotra and Kambli comfortably guided India home to victory with four overs to spare.

          New Zealand 9-132
          M Crowe 48, C Harris 25
          V Mankad 3-23, J Srinath 3-38

          India 4-136
          A Jadeja 50, A Azharuddin 45
          R Hadlee 1-17, C Harris 1-26

          India won by 6 wickets
          A Jadeja was awarded Man of the Match.

          Comment


          • #20
            Game 16: West Indies vs England
            West Indies XI: D Haynes, G Greenidge, V Richards, G Headley, B Lara, G Sobers*, C Walcott+, M Marshall, A Roberts, J Garner, C Ambrose
            England XI: C Milburn, W Grace, F Woolley, G Hick, D Gower, A Stewart+, I Botham, T Greig*, F Trueman, B Willis, D Underwood
            West Indies won the toss and elected to bowl.

            England
            Grace came out swinging and got off to an absolute belter. Garner was up to the task and bowled him with the last ball of his first over. Despite being a surprise selection, Milburn looked comfortable against the West Indian quicks. That's until the short stuff came out and he edged one to the keeper. Hick and Gower stuck around in the middle for quite some time but failed to score quickly but at least they were scorng. The West Indies saw the prolific English bowling and opted to pick an extra batsman and have Sobers roll his arm over a bit. This was a failed experiment as Hick hoicked him for 6 three times in a single over. Speaking of Hick, his half-century came off 36 balls and helped build the foundation of an excellent finish for England. Even though a few late wickets fell, the English looked to put on one of the highest totals of the tournament but Garner only gave away two runs in the final over.

            England 7-153

            West Indies
            The English opening bowlers gave the West Indies batsmen no room to score runs. Three overs had gone before Viv Richards hit the first boundary of the chase. The quicks made short work of the top-order batsman and had them on the ropes at 3-30 after six overs. A middle order fightback got the West Indians in reaching distance of the total, needing 50 runs off the final five overs but their long tail would likely prevent that from happening. Superb bowling from Greig, who picked up a four-wicket haul, ensured England held out.

            England 7-153
            G Hick 54, D Gower 40
            M Marshall 3-31, A Roberts 2-24

            West Indies 8-134
            B Lara 39, G Sobers 26
            T Greig 4-32, F Trueman 2-17

            West Indies lost by 19 runs
            T Greig was awarded Man of the Match.

            Comment


            • #21
              Round 4 Results
              Round 4
              AUS defeated PAK
              SA defeated SL
              IND defeated NZ
              WI lost to ENG

              Current Standings
              Ladder Played Wins N/R NRR Total
              Australia 4 4 0.74 8
              West Indies 4 3 1.56 6
              South Africa 4 3 1.08 6
              England 4 3 0.97 6
              India 4 1 -0.31 2
              New Zealand 4 1 -0.80 2
              Pakistan 4 1 -1.27 2
              Sri Lanka 4 0 -1.93 0

              Tournament Stat Leaders
              Player Runs Bowler Wickets
              J Rhodes 176 J Garner 10
              D Lehmann 172 P Pollock 9
              A Jadeja 140 F Trueman 9
              D Bradman 131 M Marshall 9
              V Richards 129 B Willis
              +2 others
              8

              Round 5 Fixture
              Round 5
              WI vs SA
              NZ vs AUS
              SL vs IND
              ENG vs PAK
              ​​​​

              Comment


              • #22
                Game 17: West Indies vs South Africa
                West Indies XI: D Haynes, G Headley, V Richards, B Lara, G Sobers*, C Walcott+, M Marshall, A Roberts, J Garner, M Holding, C Ambrose
                South Africa XI: K Wessles, B Richards, H Cronje, J Rhodes*, L Klusener, C Rice, A Faulkner, D Richardson+, M Procter, P Pollock, A Donald

                South Africa won the toss and elected to bowl.

                West Indies
                After losing to England, the West Indies went back to their tried and true five-pronged pace attack. Haynes and Headley made it through the opening overs without a hitch and put on a half century opening stand. The run rate never got out of hand but with a shallow batting line-up, the Windies wanted no risks. The breakthrough finally came when Rice dismissed Haynes for 35 runs. Headley fell not long after and Lara fell the very next ball. Walcott pushed Pollock's hattrick ball for a single... but after so many years, everyone knows not to run when the ball falls near Rhodes. Three wickets in three balls put the pressure back on the Windies for the last several overs. Richards looked like he'd take his team to a huge score with his own bat but was caught in the deep after hitting four 4s in a row. The long tail predicatbly collapsed and West Indies had posted a total of 132 runs.

                West Indies 9-132

                South Africa
                132 runs doesn't sound too much but the only one team so far this tournament had even survived 20 overs the West Indian attack, and none had survived when they selected five specialist quicks. It took Ambrose two bowls before stumps were cartwheeling and edges were flying. Wickets were falling almost as fast as overs were being bowled and South Africa were down and out at 5-23 at the end of the power play. Most of the damage was done by Ambrose who had four wickets in four overs. Marshall took control once Ambrose was bowled out and picked up four of his own wickets, leaving South Africa all out for just 89 runs.

                West Indies 9-132
                V Richards 38, D Haynes 35
                A Donald 3-24, A Faulkner 2-25

                South Africa
                A Faulkner 34, C Rice 18
                C Ambrose 4-15, M Marshall 4-15

                West Indies won by 43 runs
                M Marshall was awarded Man of the Match.

                Comment


                • #23
                  Game 18: New Zealand vs Australia
                  New Zealand XI: J Wright, G Turner, A Jones, M Crowe*, B Congdon, I Smith+, R Hadlee, C Harris, B Taylor, L Cairns, E Chatfield
                  Australia XI: M Waugh, M Slater, D Lehmann, D Bradman*, M Bevan, K Miller, D Tallon+, R Lindwall, S Warne, D Lillee, J Thomson

                  Australia won the toss and elected to bat.

                  Australia
                  By the time Slater had faced 10 balls, Mark Waugh had already raced to 37 runs. Slayer eventually fell to Taylor but Waugh continued to make life difficult for the New Zealand bowlers. He reached 50 but the New Zealand bowlers seemed to be able to contain him with less fielding restrictions. All of the Aussie batsmen got off to starts but were kept in check by tight bowling in the final few overs. Their final total was 156 runs, including an unbeaten 81 from Waugh.

                  Australia 3-156

                  New Zealand
                  Wright got things started the right way, pummelling Lille for 4 with the first ball of the chase. The opening pair for New Zealand rocketed their way to a 50-run partnership in less than five overs. Thomson bowled Wright and followed up by dismissing Jones in the same over. Crowe turned it up another notch when he arrived at the crease and put every bowler in the Aussie lineup to the boundary, getting the required run rate below five runs per over. The Aussie bowlers stuck to their lines and made it difficult for Crowe and Congdon to score freely and took the game down to the final over. Needing just five runs to win, Congdon launched a 6 over cover to take home one of the biggest upsets of the tournament!

                  Australia 3-156
                  M Waugh 81 no, M Slater 25
                  L Cairns 1-23, B Taylor 1-24

                  New Zealand
                  B Congdon 46 no, M Crowe 39 no
                  J Thomson 2-39, R Lindwall 1-18

                  New Zealand won by 7 wickets
                  G Turner was awarded Man of the Match.

                  Comment


                  • #24
                    Game 19: Sri Lanka vs India
                    Sri Lanka XI: T Paravitana, S Jayantha, D Mendis, T Samaraweera, A de Silva*, R Silva, R Kulatharana+, U Chandana, P Wickramasinghe, N Zoysa, S de Silva
                    India XI: S Ganguly, A Jadeja, M Azharuddin, V Kambli, M Kaif, K Dev, V Yadav, V Mankad, A Kumble
                    ​, J Srinath, B Bedi
                    India won the toss and elected to bowl.

                    Sri Lanka
                    An early blow was dealt by Srinath, trapping Jayantha LBW in -you guessed it- the first over. Dev one-upped his fellow quick by taking two wickets in his first over, causing Sri Lanka to crumble to 3-6. It wasn't just the Indian quicks doing damage. Bedi and Kumble picked up wickets in their first overs too. India could have wrapped the game up with just four bowlers but Mankad came in to bowl an over and took two wickets with just two balls to finish off the match. Sri Lanka was demolished for their lowest score T20 total ever, 33, and the highest score was Paravitana with just nine runs. Each bowler took two wickets each. Gotta love it when the love is shared around.

                    Sri Lanka 33

                    India
                    India could gain a huge NRR boost in this match if they go all-out attack. S de Silva found Ganguly's edge with the first ball of the innings but Jadeja managed to chase down half of the required runs in just one over. Azharuddin took things a lot slower but there was never any doubt this match wouldn't be over quickly. The final run was made in the sixth over. With two wins in a row, India had well and truly arrived.

                    Sri Lanka 33
                    T Paravitana 9, A de Silva 7
                    V Mankad 2-0, K Dev 2-3

                    India 2-34
                    M Azharuddin 17, A Jadeja 15 no
                    S de Silva 1-7, N Zoysa 1-27

                    Sri Lanka lost by 8 wickets
                    K Dev was awarded Man of the Match.

                    Comment


                    • #25
                      Game 20: England vs Pakistan
                      England XI: G Hick, W Grace, D Gower, F Woolley, A Lamb, A Stewart+, I Botham, T Greig*, F Trueman, B Willis, D Underwood
                      Pakistan XI: S Anwar, A Sohail, J Miandad, Z Abbas, R Raja, I Khan*, W Raja, M Khan+, W Akram, A Qadir, W Younis

                      England won the toss and elected to bowl.

                      Pakistan
                      After a few matches dominated by bowlers, it was refreshing to see the Pakistani openers come out with the intent to score runs. Sohail looked to make the most of things after coming back into the side but only managed to put on 19 runs before being caught in the deep off Trueman. Trueman had two wickets when he also had Miandad caught out cheaply. Anwar and Abbas put on a 50-run partnership before Stewart took a screamer off the bowling of Greig to remove Anwar for 41. Greig had two when he bowled Abbas, who also made it 41. There were a few late wickets and big hits that allowed Pakistan to reach 9-163.

                      Pakistan 9-163

                      England
                      Needing a big performance from their batsmen, Hick and Grace put on a big first over together, scoring 14 runs. Some of the best swing bowlers the world had ever seen seemed to have no answer to the English openers who struck boundaries all around the ground to put them in a great position early in the chase. Grace's innings of 25 runs off 11 balls came to an end when Younis struck him in the pads plumb in front. With one big hitter down, another stood up. At the end of the five-over mark, England were already 1-65. Maybe spin was the way to go since Qadir seemed to stem the run rate and picked up the wicket of Gower for 32. Hick cemented his position as English opener when he brought up his 50. Younis took a few late wickets to take things down to the final over where England needed just three runs. Raja bowled three dot balls in a row before Botham pulled out the reverse sweep for 4 to win the match.

                      Pakistan 9-163
                      S Anwar 41, Z Abbas 41
                      B Willis 3-12, T Greig 3-36

                      England 5-165
                      G Hick 60, F Woolley 33
                      W Younis 3-35, A Qadir 2-39

                      England won by 5 wickets
                      G Hick was awarded Man of the Match.

                      Comment


                      • #26
                        Round 5 Results
                        Round 5
                        WI defeated SA
                        NZ defeated AUS
                        SL lost to IND
                        ENG defeated PAK

                        Current Standings
                        Ladder Played Wins N/R NRR Total
                        West Indies 5 4 158 8
                        England 5 4 0.91 8
                        Australia 5 4 0.53 8
                        South Africa 5 3 1.08 6
                        India 5 2 0.11 4
                        New Zealand 5 2 -0.61 4
                        Pakistan 5 1 -1.07 2
                        Sri Lanka 5 0 -1.93 0

                        Tournament Stat Leaders
                        Player Runs Bowler Wickets
                        D Lehamann 193 M Marshall 13
                        M Waugh 189 B Willis 11
                        G Hick 187 C Ambrose 11
                        J Rhodes 185 J Garner 11
                        V Richards 167 F Trueman
                        +P Pollock
                        11

                        Round 6 Fixture
                        Round 6
                        AUS vs SL
                        IND vs WI
                        SA vs ENG
                        PAK vs NZ
                        ​​​​​
                        Last edited by Wilted; 09-24-2023, 05:10 AM. Reason: edit

                        Comment


                        • #27
                          Game 21: Australia vs Sri Lanka
                          Australia XI: V Trumper, M Waugh, D Lehmann, D Bradman*, D Jones, K Miller, D Tallon+, R Lindwall, S Warne, D Lillee, J Thomson
                          Sri Lanka XI
                          : T Paravitana, S Jayantha, D Mendis, A de Silva*, T Samaraweera, M Warnapura, R Kaluwitharana+, K Dharmasena, U Chadana, N Zoysa, S de Silva
                          Sri Lanka won the toss and elected to bat.

                          Sri Lanka
                          Lillee bowled three fast, straight balls in a row. The third cannoned into Jayantha's middle stump. Lindwall did the same thing at the other end to remove the other opening batsman. Three more wickets fell in the powerplay, leaving Sri Lanka five wickets down with only 22 runs on the board after six overs. De Silva and Kaluwitharana put on a solid fightback in the middle overs and put on over 50 runs together before Warne broke the partnership. The Sri Lankan tail-end stuck around to add a few more runs to reach 123 at the end of 20 overs.

                          Sri Lanka 9-123

                          Australia
                          Australia blasted themselves through the opening overs, striking any chances of an unlikely upset (again). The partnership of Waugh and Trumper reached 50 in just a tick over five overs. Zoysa bowled Trumper for 40 runs but Australia needed just 40 runs off 13 overs to win the game. Dharmasena picked up the wickets of Waugh and Bradman as Australia cruised to victory with six overs to spare.

                          Sri Lanka 9-123
                          A de Silva 43, R Kulawitharana 32
                          R Lindwall 2-13, D Lillee 2-23

                          Australia 3-127
                          M Waugh 45, V Trumper 40
                          K Dharmasena 2-25, N Zoysa 1-43

                          Australia won by 7 wickets
                          M Waugh was awarded Man of the Match.

                          Comment


                          • #28
                            Game 22: India vs West Indies
                            India XI: V Mankad, A Jadeja, M Azharuddin, V Kambli, A Malhotra, M Kaif, K Dev*, V Yadav+, J Srinath, B Bedi, A Kumble
                            West Indies XI: D Haynes, G Greenidge, V Richards, G Headley, C Walcott+, G Sobers*, M Marshall, A Roberts, J Garner, M Holding, C Ambrose

                            India won the toss and elected to bowl.

                            West Indies
                            It was a tight start for the Indians, who only let through one boundary in the first four overs of the innings. The pressure built up to the run out of Haynes and the dismissal of Greenidge early on. Headley finally struck a boundary in the sixth over to alleviate the run rate slightly. Unfortunately, wickets fell as often as boundaries, leaving the West Indies four wickets down after eight overs. Richards and Sobers led the charge to put a decent total on the board but runs were still hard to come by. Richards was the last recognised batsman and batted well with the tail until he was bowled for 41. The rest of the tail dropped like flies and the West Indies only managed to put on 113 runs.

                            West Indies 113

                            India
                            Mankad was elevated up the order to open to make way for Kaif to join the Indian team and bolster their batting depth, which was a must against the relentless West Indies pace attack. Even chasing 114 would be a difficult task against them. In the end, Mankad only made three runs, making it a bit of a failed gambit. Thankfully Jadeja and Azharuddin looked more comfortable against the express pace of the West Indian quicks. Only one more wicket fell for the match. Azharuddin brought up his 50 with the winning runs.

                            West Indies 113
                            V Richards 41, G Sobers 22
                            J Srinath 3-16, K Dev 3-22

                            India 2-116
                            M Azharuddin 50 no, V Kambli 39 no
                            A Roberts 2-24

                            India won by 8 wickets
                            K Dev was awarded Man of the Match.

                            Comment


                            • #29
                              Game 23: South Africa vs EnglandSouth Africa XI: K Wessels, A Faulkner, G Pollock, J Rhodes*, H Cronje, L Klusener, C Rice, D Richardson+, M Procter, P Pollock, A Donald
                              England XI: G Hick, W Grace, F Woolley, A Lamb, D Gower, A Stewart+, I Botham, T Greig*, F Trueman, B Willis, D Underwood

                              South Africa won the toss and elected to bowl.

                              England
                              England managed to get in a couple of streaky boundaries before Donald found Grace's edge for the first wicket of the match. Hick suffered a similar fate but Woolley looked to steady things to avoid a collapse. Despite his best efforts, Woolley wasn't able to fend off Donald forever and eventually became his third victim for 19 runs. A slow, juicy full toss from Klusener was belted by Gower. Klusener had luck on his side as it was belted straight to Procter at mid-off. Returning to form with the ball after a few games, Klusener picked up three wickets to put the English batsmen on the back foot. A brilliant 50 from Stewart salvaged the English innings.

                              England 9-126

                              South Africa
                              A total of 127 went a win was well and truly on the cards for South Africa and a win would mean they'd be on par with the current top teams. Wessels and Pollock opened the batting and struck four boundaries, including a maximum, in the first over. The Proteas were into the 50s after just five overs with just the casualty of Pollock. A double-wicket maiden from Willis swung momentum slightly back to the English. After a few more quick wickets, the South Africans were 5-69 at the halfway point of the innings and the DLS predictor actually had them on par with England. Klusener was the last remaining recognised batsman and once he was bowled by Botham, things looked dire for the South Africans. Trueman edged one through to the keeper and South Africa were bowled out, 24 runs short of their target.

                              England 9-126
                              A Stewart 51, F Woolley 19
                              L Klusener 3-20, A Donald 3-25

                              South Africa 102
                              K Wessels 27, G Pollock 25
                              I Botham 3-17, D Underwood 2-17

                              South Africa lost by 24 runs
                              A Stewart was awarded Man of the Match.

                              Comment


                              • #30
                                Game 24: Pakistan vs New Zealand
                                Pakistan XI: S Anwar, R Raja, Z Abbas, J Miandad, A Sohail, I Khan*, W Raja, M Khan+, W Akram, A Qadir, W Younis
                                New Zealand XI: J Wright, G Turner, M Crowe*, A Jones, B Congdon, C Harris, R Hadlee, I Smith+, L Cairns, E Chatfield, J Saunders

                                New Zealand won the toss and elected to bowl.

                                Pakistan
                                Some big hits and a top edge for 6 in the first over got Anwar and his team off to a great start. Anwar raced into the 30s but Raja couldn't keep up and was caught in the deep cheaply. Anwar played one too many shots and was caught off a top edge for 43 runs off 21 deliveries but he had already set the foundations for a great score. Saunders was unplayable without reward but he dried up the run rate to almost nothing. The good news for Pakistan was they had wickets to spare in the death overs and looked to score rapidly to post a big total. The Kiwis leaked only a couple of boundaries and bowled well in the final overs, in particular Harris and Saunders. Pakistan reached 139 runs.

                                Pakistan 6-139

                                New Zealand
                                The Pakistani quicks managed to beat the bat many times. In fact, the New Zealand openers only got bat on ball twice in Akram's first two overs. After five overs only one boundary had been scored, by Wright. Crowe fell to the pressure and at the end of the powerplay, New Zealand were 2-26 after six overs. As the required run rate crept above eight per over, Jones and Congdon began to find the middle of the bat and put the pressure back on the Pakistani bowlers. Younis came into the attack to put an end to Congdon's innings, leaving Jones to pick up the remaining runs. Jones fell agonisingly short of a 50 with 36 runs still needed for a New Zealand victory. Younis had two wickets and was prowling for more, while Hadlee and Harris eyed off the 36 runs needed from five overs. Younis bowled the penultimate over and took two more wickets to bring his tally to four for the match. Akram stepped up to bowl the final over where New Zealand needed just seven runs to win without any wickets left in the shed. The left arm quick needed just one ball at Saunders to finish things up and Pakistan snuck home with a narrow victory.

                                Pakistan 6-139
                                S Anwar 43, Z Abbas 31
                                E Chatfield 2-24, L Cairns 2-37

                                New Zealand 134
                                A Jones 47, J Wright 29
                                W Younis 4-36, W Akram 2-10

                                Pakistan won by 5 runs
                                W Younis was awarded Man of the Match.

                                Comment

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