Spills cost us the game: Waqar

KANDY:

Pakistan were left to rue to another horror show behind the stumps by Kamran Akmal as they were reduced to bits in front of a ruthless Ross Taylor as Pallekele International Cricket Stadium saw New Zealand beat Pakistan by 110 runs.

Taylor, let off twice in three Shoaib Akhtar balls, hammered 131 off just 124 balls with eight fours and seven sixes as the Kiwis amassed 302 for seven after a poor start. The final ten overs cost Pakistan 139 as Shoaib Akhtar and Abdul Razzaq were brutally pulled over mid-wicket and driven down the ground in a shift of momentum that never came back to Pakistan.

Pakistan lost wickets at regular intervals and suffered their second biggest World Cup defeat, leaving a packed 30,000 crowd disappointed. Scott Styris, Nathan McCullum and Kyle Mills grabbed two wickets each to halt Pakistan’s unbeaten progress in the tournament.

Bad day for us: Pakistan coach

Pakistan coach Waqar Younis, while praising Taylor’s knock, blamed the floored chances for the heavy defeat.

“It was a bad day for us and the spills cost us the game,” he said in the post-match press conference. “The wicket-keeping was not good and they were easy catches that were dropped but we don’t want to take anything away from Taylor as he played a wonderful knock.”

Taylor benefitted from two let-offs by wicket-keeper Akmal to guide New Zealand to a win that took them to the top of Group A, ahead of Pakistan on net run-rate. With five days to go before Pakistan take on Zimbabwe in a match crucial for the former champions as to where they finish in the group, Younis ruled out panic changes and, instead, hoped his players learn from their mistakes.

“The dropped catches obviously changed the game and you can’t expect to win after that but we won’t panic. What’s happened has happened and we now need to look ahead to the next game, including the crunch match against Australia.”

Taylor outshines Razzaq in thriller

The team would have taken delight in the way all-rounder Abdul Razzaq batted towards the end but it was Taylor’s day as he hit eight boundaries and seven sixes during his 124-ball knock, peaking in the final 10 overs.

He made the most of his good fortune and ran riot in the 47th over of the innings, hitting Akhtar for two boundaries and three sixes – spectacular 28 runs in all – to reach his first World Cup hundred off 117 deliveries. He then hit two boundaries and three sixes to take 30 off Razzaq’s 49th over.

Taylor added a blistering 85 for the seventh wicket with Jacob Oram (25 off just nine balls, with three sixes and a boundary) off just 22 balls to punish a hapless Pakistan bowling attack.

Umar Gul, the pick of Pakistan bowlers with three for 32, dismissed Jamie How (four) to make it 55 for two, leaving the repair work to Taylor and Martin Guptill. Akhtar proved to be the most expensive bowler conceding 70 in his nine overs, while Razzaq was clobbered for 49 in four as Pakistan were left to rue poor death-bowling once again against quality opposition.(With additional reporting from AFP)

Razzaq fastest to 5,000-250 double

Pakistan all-rounder Abdul Razzaq became the fastest player to achieve the 5,000 runs and 250 wickets double in One-Day Internationals.

Razzaq reached the landmark in his 258th match as he drove Scott Styris past
mid-off in yesterday’s encounter at the Pallekele Stadium in Kandy. The all-rounder became the fourth man to achieve the milestone after Sanath Jayasuriya, Jaques Kallis and Pakistan captain Shahid Afridi.

In addition to the 5,040 runs he finished on yesterday, Razzaq has also taken 263 wickets at an average of 31.95.

Published in the Express Tribune, March 9^th, 2011.