Kiwis deliver the knock-out punch on Pak

Kiwis deliver the knock-out punch on Pak
VIKRANT GUPTA

NAIROBI, OCTOBER 11: For days, the Pakistanis were the "unofficial spokespersons" of the Knock-Out Cup. They were giving suggestions to teams and the players and thought only they could play the game. Then, there was this "Oh-so-easy draw" and their supporters were asking: "Who would be an easier meat in the final: India or South Africa?" In the final, huh! Think about playing England now, not at Nairobi but back home in Pakistan, when a Test series between the two sides resumes after a 13-year itch.

For the most underated bunch of the tournament, the Kiwi Black Caps, their fairy tale romance is not yet over. On a day they believed in themselves, did not give an ear to all the Pakistani sledging and their four-wicket win must have come as a pleasant shock. The only dilemna for their bleary-eyed supporters back home would be whether to call it a historic Wednesday or a Thursday as when the last ball was bowled in fading light at the Nairobi Gymkhana here, it was the dawn of a new day in New Zealand!

New Zealand made their first final in a major tournament but it will be Pakistan's defeat which was the news of the day. Hope it didn't triger any riots in the streets of Karachi! The stunned Pakistani skipper Moin Khan admitted they lost to "overconfidence, particularly in our bowling strength". Yes, he said it was "no match-fixing"!

Overconfidence, Moin was right, but give it to the Kiwis. Even without Chris Cairns, they fought till the last quarter. The Pakistanis thought their bowlers would now wrap it up, when New Zealand were 188 for six, with only 12 off the 50 overs left. Mind you, Wasim Akram, Saqlain Mushtaq, Abdur Razzaq... they all had overs left and sighting the ball was not very easyunder the conditions.

Craig McMillan (51 not out) was gallant and with Scott Styris also holding his nerve, the top-order spadework done by Roger Twose (87) and Nathan Astle (49) didn't go waste. It also put in shade Pakistani opener Saaed Anwar's second successive ton in the morning, which was perhaps the only bright spot in an otherwise dark Pakistani day.

The Pakistanis did appear rusty while batting, a fact later admitted by Moin ("We should have scored 20-30 more runs but our middle order collapsed). Thefive-wicketer man-of-match Shayne O'Connor agreed with Moin ("It was not a bad wicket to bat on") but his left-arm medium pace didn't allow the slog thePakistanis hoped they could, so very easily. After India's win over the Australians, Pakistan's exit ensures neither the World Champions nor the onethey beat in last year's World Cup final will be there when the coin will be tossed on Sunday, the day the Mini-World Cup champion will be decided.

Stephen Flemings' boys have an off day tomorrow. The day after, they will know who they are playing in the title clash. The Indians, relieved after the Pakistanis loss today, have a mountain to climb on Friday when theyface South Africa in the second semi-finals.

PAKISTAN
Saaed Anwar c Parore b Allott 104 (115b, 16x4)
Imran Nazir c Spearman b O'Connor 21 (27b, 5x4)
Yousuf Youhana c Fleming b Astle 24 (43b, 2x1)
Inzamam-ul-Haq st Parore b Astle 1 (6b)
Ijaz Ahmed c&b Harris 3 (6b)
Moin Khan run out 2 (4b)
Abdur Razzaq c Astle b O'Connor 48 (49b, 5x4) Wasim Akram c Fleming b O'Connor 34 (35b, 1x4)
Azhar Mahmood c Styris b O'Connor 4 (4b)
Saqlain Mushtaq c&b O'Connor 2 (4b)
Arshad Khan not out 2 (5b)
Extras: (lb 3, nb 2, w 2) 7
Total: (allout in 49.2 overs) 252
Fall of wickets: 1-59 (Nazir), 2-111 (Youhana), 3-120 (Inzamam), 4-135 (Ijaz), 5-143 (Moin), 6-178 (Anwar),7-237 (Razzaq), 8-243 (Mahmood), 9-249 (Akram)
Bowling: Geoff Allott 10-0-57-1, Shayne O'Connor9.2-0-46-5, Scott Styris 10-1-41-0, Nathan Astle10-0-50-2, Chris Harris 7-0-36-1, Paul Wiseman3-0-19-0

NEW ZEALAND (Need 253 to win)
Craig Spearman b Mahmood 1 (5b)
Nathan Astle c Moin b Mahmood 49 (81b, 5x4)
Stephen Fleming c Inzamam b Mahmood 12 (11b, 2x4)
Roger Twose c Akram b Saqlain 87 (101b, 14x4)
Craig McMillan not out 51(56b, 3x4)
Adam Parore b Mahmood 10 (12b, 1x4)
Chris Harris run out 0 (1b)
Scott Styris not out 28 (31b, 1x4, 1x6)
Extras: (w 5, b 4, lb 3, nb 5) 17
Total: (for six wkts in 49 overs) 255
Fall of wickets: 1-3 (Spearman), 2-15 (Fleming), 3-150(Astle), 4-169 (Twose), 5-187 (Parore), 6-187 (Harris)
Bowling: Wasim Akram 10-0-47-0, Azhar Mahmood10-0-65-4, Abdur Razzaq 10-0-41-0, Saqlain Mushtaq10-0-45-1, Arshad Khan 9-0-45-0
Result: New Zealand won by six wickets MoM: Shayne O'Connor