India’s dream of a World Cup triumph at home is one step closer after their bowlers suffocated Pakistan’s batsmen to set up a 29-run victory in the semi-final in Mohali. Saturday’s decider will now be a battle of the hosts, and while Sri Lanka might have been surprised by the strength of India’s bowling effort, they would also have taken note of a slightly lacklustre batting performance.

In the end, India’s 260 for 9 was enough as their bowlers did a fine job, but had Pakistan helped themselves, the target could have been so much more gettable. Sachin Tendulkar was dropped four times in his 85, MS Dhoni was put down once and while Wahab Riaz was extremely impressive in collecting five wickets, Umar Gul had one of his most forgettable days, wilting under the pressure of a World Cup semi-final.

By contrast, India’s display in the field was much more professional, and that was the difference in a match that lived up to the extreme pre-match hype. The decision to leave R Ashwin out to make room for Ashish Nehra was an odd choice on a pitch offering plenty of spin, but Nehra and his bowling colleagues built the pressure and gave Pakistan’s batsmen little to attack after they made a promising start and reached 70 for 1.

The Indians didn’t give away an extra until the 37th over of the innings, and the way they put together strings of dot balls and tight overs was key to their success. Munaf Patel picked up two victims and Yuvraj Singh made up for his golden duck with a pair of wickets, but the most important breakthrough came when Harbhajan Singh bowled Umar Akmal for 29.

Akmal had struck a pair of sixes off Yuvraj, driving him over the sight screen and pulling him over midwicket, and anything was possible while he was at the crease. But Dhoni called on Harbhajan to replace Yuvraj, and with the first ball of his spell he came around the wicket and pushed one across Akmal, taking the off stump when the batsman played for the spin.

Shahid Afridi also fell to Harbhajan when he skied a catch off a full toss, and the obdurate Misbah-ul-Haq was left to steer the chase. He found it difficult to lift his tempo and was the last man out, caught on the boundary for 56 in the final over, but he ate up 76 deliveries and had he shown some more intent earlier, Pakistan might have had a chance.

It was a disappointing end for Pakistan after their top order gave them hope. Mohammad Hafeez made an encouraging 43 before a string of eight dot balls from Munaf brought a brain-fade as Hafeez tried a premeditated paddle sweep from outside off stump and edged behind to Dhoni.

Soon after, the loss of Asad Shafiq brought the Mohali crowd to life, when he tried to cut a Yuvraj delivery that was much too full and straight, and the middle stump was knocked back. Shafiq had made 30 and had displayed a cool temperament until that point, but the required run-rate started to balloon, and Pakistan never recovered.

But while India have booked a place in the final, they must hope they haven’t used all their good fortune too soon. Tendulkar might be the finest batsman of his generation, but today he was the luckiest, dropped on 27, 45, 70 and 81. It seemed as though he was going to bring up his 100th international century with one of his least convincing innings.

Misbah at midwicket was the first to put him down, before Younis Khan spilled a regulation chance at cover, both off the bowling of Afridi. The third opportunity came when Kamran Akmal didn’t move his hands quickly enough to a thick edge, again off Afridi, and while that was a tough opportunity, a pull to Umar at mid-on from the offspin of Hafeez should have been taken.

Before he had any of those lives, Tendulkar had survived two very tight calls on 23: an lbw decision that was given out by Ian Gould but on review proved to be spinning down leg, and a near-stumping the next delivery when he just got his back foot down in time after losing his balance reaching outside off. When Tendulkar was finally taken at cover by Afridi off the bowling of Ajmal, Pakistan’s relief was evident.

Soon after, a scratchy Dhoni, who was also dropped by Kamran, made the mistake of challenging Simon Taufel on an lbw decision. Dhoni had 25 when he missed a Riaz delivery that pitched just in line and was hitting the stumps. It was the second outstanding call by Taufel, who had given Virender Sehwag lbw in a similar fashion earlier, even though the left-armer’s angle meant pitching outside leg was a possibility.

Riaz was the man who Afridi had to thank for keeping Pakistan in the contest after India made a strong start and reached 114 for 1 off their first 18 overs. After Gautam Gambhir was stumped wandering down the pitch against Hafeez, Riaz grabbed two wickets in two balls – Virat Kohli caught at backward point and Yuvraj bowled by a low full toss for a golden duck.

Nobody looked as fluent as the crease as Sehwag, who took 21 off Gul (0 for 69) from the third over of the innings. What looked like a 300-plus total in those early overs became 260 when Suresh Raina helped them recover from their middle-order failures.

It was enough, but India’s batsmen will need to improve if they want to lift the trophy on Saturday. For now, they can dream of their first World Cup in 28 years.

Brydon Coverdale is an assistant editor at ESPNcricinfo

Pakistan are two games away from repeating the heroics of Imran Khan’s 1992 team after a crushing 10-wicket victory against West Indies in the first quarter-final in Dhaka. Mohammad Hafeez starred with bat and ball, beginning West Indies’ decline with two early wickets then ending it with a brisk 61, while Shahid Afridi is proving an inspirational force and led from the front again with four more scalps as the spinners produced a ruthless display to dismantle West Indies for 112.

Between the three of them, Pakistan’s slow bowlers had figures of 27.3-5-64-8 and gave another example of how there is a threat from every part of the attack. At no point did Afridi need to fill overs, especially when the weakest link of the bowlers – Hafeez – managed to take 2 for 16 in his full allocation. Hafeez then dominated an unbroken opening stand with Kamran Akmal which wiped off the target with barely an alarm and 29 overs to spare.

The match represented a contest for as long as Chris Gayle was in the middle – the sum total of 2.5 overs. His departure sucked the life and belief from West Indies line-up with the rest remaining rooted to the crease, managing just seven fours and a solitary Shivnarine Chanderpaul six as he nudged his way to a hollow, unbeaten 44.

Some early aggression had proved the falsest of dawns. Devon Smith cut the first ball of the match to the point boundary and Gayle played two thumping shots, but in attempting his third boundary, he picked out Afridi at mid-off who did well to hold on to a stinging drive. With their talisman gone, West Indies became virtually scoreless.

Hafeez, handed the new ball after Abdur Rehman was left out, caused a host of problems for the left handers, mainly with his straighter deliveries, rather than any turn. The major damage came in his third over as he skidded one past Smith’s inside edge, and three balls later, a similar delivery removed Darren Bravo as he thrust his pad down the line.

The next six overs brought just six runs as Ramnaresh Sarwan and Chanderpaul were rendered scoreless by the combination of Hafeez and Gul. The shackles were momentarily broken when Sarwan collected two boundaries off Wahab Riaz – the second a flowing cover drive – but they were the rare exception.

Hafeez was allowed to bowl eight overs for 12 runs though he was barely turning the ball and spinners continued to cause problems when Afridi had two close shouts for lbw in his first over. He used up a review with the first one but should have broken through in his second over when Gul didn’t accept a chance at long-off when Sarwan, on 14, tried to go over the top.

Runs came at a painful rate, but at least the fourth-wicket pair were trying to set a platform. However, with the pressure building and Pakistan racing through the overs Sarwan felt he had to try some shots, but couldn’t clear cover as he cut a delivery which bounced more than expected. Not for the first time, Afridi stood with arms aloft and it was just the start for the Pakistan captain.

Kieron Pollard did nothing to end the argument that he’s a bully of weak bowling attacks when he bottom-edged a cut and Kamran Akmal’s recent improvements continued with a sharp take. None of the West Indian batsman – barring Chanderpaul – had a clue which way Afridi was turning the ball and that was summed up by Devon Thomas’ dismissal as he played back to a quicker ball.

From legspin to offspin it was then the turn of Saeed Ajmal to make more lower-order batsmen look foolish. Darren Sammy, who will struggle to justify his place in the team after this tournament, was turned square by a perfect doosra and the same delivery also removed Devendra Bishoo although this time the batsman helped with an inside edge.

Kemar Roach showed some of his team-mates that batting wasn’t impossible as he accompanied Chanderpaul for 15 overs to add 40 but it was like trying to the plug the leak in the Titanic. Roach eventually chipped to midwicket and the innings ended with more than six overs remaining when Ravi Rampaul was bowled round his legs by Afridi.

Pakistan weren’t going to ease their way to the target and after two overs had 25 on the board – it had taken West Indies until the 12th over to reach that point. Hafeez rode on the confidence of his bowling display, but some of the bowling served up was as bad as the earlier batting. A couple of tough half chances were spilled without affecting the result.

The victory means their first journey to India since 2007 to face either the co-hosts or defending champions in Mohali. Pakistan won’t care who the opposition are, it will take an exceptional performance to stop them.

Andrew McGlashan is an assistant editor at ESPNcricinfo

Pakistan were the last team to overcome Australia at a World Cup and it was they who brought Ricky Ponting’s 34-match unbeaten run to an end with a four-wicket victory in Colombo to secure top spot in Group A. An impressive display in the field laid the foundations as the reigning champions were bundled out for 176 on a difficult surface, their lowest total in a World Cup since 1992, and despite a mighty effort from Brett Lee Pakistan were guided home by Umar Akmal and Abdul Razzaq.

Despite not having either team’s progression at stake, the final group positions determine quarter-final opposition while momentum is also a factor. Both teams were hyped for the contest, and it came to an early head when Umar and Brad Haddin almost came to blows in the field. Australia were desperate not to relinquish a proud record dating back to May 23, 1999.

After their batting subsided with 20 balls unused, Australia’s only chance was to bowl Pakistan out, but in the event it required Lee himself to do most of the damage. He removed both openers in a fiery new-ball burst before returning to claim Younis Khan and Misbah-ul-Haq with consecutive deliveries in 23rd over, leaving Pakistan wobbling on 98 for 4.

However, support for Lee was too late in coming which didn’t leave enough runs for Australia to play with. Mitchell Johnson had Asad Shafiq taken at slip off the glove for a composed 46 and Shahid Afridi brainlessly carved to long-on against Jason Krejza. Surprisingly, Lee wasn’t immediately recalled with 34 runs still needed and by the time he came back the target was down to 10. Umar played one of his most composed innings yet, and Razzaq finished the chase with consecutive boundaries.

Lee could easily have removed Kamran Akmal in the first over of Pakistan’s reply, while in his second over he squared up Mohammad Hafeez and made good ground to take the return catch. With attacking fields set by Ricky Ponting, further boundaries were notched up by Kamran and Shafiq, who had to battle some pain after twisting his ankle, but Lee kept his side in the match singlehandedly.

After being carved over the covers he thundered a rapid delivery into Kamran’s pads and this time he was given out by Marais Erasmus with the review unable to save him. However, Ponting knew he had to save some of Lee for later and his spell ended after five overs which released the pressure on Pakistan.

Shafiq, who showed his composure against Zimbabwe in his first World Cup outing, played another mature hand knowing that the required rate was always in hand. Both he and Younis had a few nervous moments – with the pair edging through a vacant slip cordon – but together they took the requirement below 100. Eventually, though, Younis flashed once too often outside off and gave a simple catch to Brad Haddin, and from the very next ball, the match was back in the balance when Misbah, the other half of Pakistan’s experienced middle order, hung his bat out at a Lee outswinger.

Umar wasn’t going to fiddle his way towards the target and drilled his fifth ball through the covers, but to his immense credit he throttled back to play a very mature hand. He picked the right moments to attack, including a six off Krejza, and didn’t panic after Lee’s rapid inroads. It helped that he had the experience of Razzaq at the end to see them across the line.

Australia have been saying how they wanted a test after easing through most of the group stage but the batting wasn’t up to it on a difficult surface that offered spin and a touch of uneven bounce. Two batsmen desperate for a substantial innings, Ponting (19) and Cameron White (8), both struggled leaving the lower order exposed to an attack that had all the bases covered on a surface offering spin and reverse swing.

Pakistan had an early scare when Gul pulled up at the start of his second over with a knee problem and needed attention from the physio. Whatever treatment was provided worked wonders because he produced a lovely nip-backer to beat Shane Watson’s ambitious drive. Ponting has been scratchy during the tournament and was again unconvincing with his first boundary came from a fortunate top-edge after he was comprehensively beaten by a Wahab Riaz bouncer.

Not for the first time spin brought his downfall when he tried to cut Hafeez, who produced a superb 10-over spell for 26, and got a thick edge that Kamran did well to take in the webbing of his right glove. However, it was originally given not out and the DRS was needed to overturn the decision in Pakistan’s favour. Meanwhile, as the players waited for the TV umpire, there was an altercation between Haddin and the Pakistanis.

Haddin has been consistent during the tournament without reaching the three-figure score the top order needs and he couldn’t convert here when he pushed at a delivery from Wahab Riaz. Misbah missed an opportunity to run out Michael Clarke but made no mistake when his next chance came around when his throw to Kamran found White short after a laboured stay.

In Clarke and Michael Hussey, Australia had two of their in-form players together but even they found scoring tough as Afridi mixed up his bowling options. Razzaq was held back until the 35th over and made an immediate impression when Clarke missed an ugly heave against a well-disguised off-cutter which trimmed the off bail.

Hussey couldn’t perform a rescue-act, either, when he chipped a simple catch to midwicket and the innings was coming off the rails as Razzaq produced a nippy delivery to find Johnson’s outside edge. It left the tail to cope with Gul and Afridi which proved too much, but Australia weren’t many short of a matchwinning total. The quarters and semi-final will be fascinating viewing if the pitches are anything like this surface.

Andrew McGlashan is an assistant editor at ESPNcricinfo

Pakistan made the most of Elton Chigumbura’s generous offer to bat first to secure a seven-wicket victory in a rain-reduced fixture at Pallekele and rubber-stamp their quarter-final place. The dank skies delivered two huge downpours that meant Duckworth-Lewis made its first appearance of the tournament in another one-sided Group A fixture.

With the damp pitch and heavy cloud cover Pallekele resembled an early-spring Headingley and Pakistan’s bowlers thrived in the helpful conditions. They entered the game on the back of a 110-run hammering on the same ground by New Zealand, but rediscovered their focus to reduce Zimbabwe to 157 for 7 when a second rain delay brought a premature end to the innings. Asad Shafiq then helped himself to an unbeaten 78 in his first World Cup match to steer Pakistan to an easy victory.

Shoaib Akhtar was dropped after his shambolic showing in the previous match and, having struggled for new-ball scalps through the tournament, the opening pair of Umar Gul and Abdul Razzaq made three inroads in the first six overs which set the tone for the remainder of the day.

Razzaq, who was flogged for 49 in four overs against New Zealand, landed the key blow in the first over when he had Brendan Taylor caught behind for 5. Taylor would be forgiven for thinking himself unlucky because it was Pakistan’s calamitous wicketkeeper Kamran Akmal who held chance. Kamran had put down an almost identical one off Ross Taylor last Tuesday but here, to the palpable relief of all his team-mates, he made no mistake.

If that was impressive enough, Misbah-ul-Haq’s catch at slip to remove Vusi Sibanda, demonstrated a rare sharpness in the field as he moved swiftly to his right to pluck the sharp chance out the air. With the ball darting around and Gul generating good pace it looked as though Zimbabwe would subside swiftly, but Craig Ervine resisted with a gutsy half-century, finding support from Greg Lamb and later Chigumbura, who made his second-highest score in 19 matches as captain with an unbeaten 32.

Ervine was the most assured of the Zimbabwe players but was gifted a life on 13 when Misbah undid his earlier good work by fluffing a simple chance off Razzaq. The dark clouds had threatened all afternoon and finally let rip in the 28th over with a tropical downpour. On most grounds it would have been enough to end proceedings for the day, but a collection of huge covers and an army of groundstaff combined to get the entire outfield protected and play resumed after 90 minutes.

The delay freshened up an already sprightly surface and Ervine fell five balls after completing his fifty. It left Chigumbura to try and atone for his earlier decision to bat and he was looking in good order when rain returned to close the innings prematurely, setting a modest target of 162 from 38 overs.

Pakistan laboured somewhat early on in a straightforward chase before Shafiq took control. Ahmed Shehzad’s miserable tournament continued when he ran past a flighted Ray Price delivery to fall for 8. He now has a highest score of 13 from five knocks this World Cup which, after starring in Pakistan’s 3-2 series victory in New Zealand that preceded the tournament, is a major disappointment.

Instead it was his Mohammad Hafeez who steadied the early innings with 49. After Hafeez fell, Shahid Afridi promoted himself up the order but his search for batting form continued as he landed a couple of sweeps before missing a cut to give an ecstatic Price his second wicket

Shafiq, in the side head of Umar Akmal, began very quietly and had 5 from 26 deliveries before finding the boundary for the first time. He added 41 from his next 49 balls to bring up a composed half-century and ensure no alarms.

After Afridi’s predictable blow-out Younis Khan partnered Shafiq to guide Pakistan over the line and into the quarter-finals with a 54-run stand. It means Group A’s qualifiers are settled and the ICC can only be thankful Group B has been exciting enough to keep the elongated opening phase interesting.

Sahil Dutta is an assistant editor at ESPNcricinfo

Ross Taylor enjoyed an unforgettable bash on his 27th birthday. And the tab was picked by Pakistan. In an exhilarating display of explosive hitting, Taylor smashed an unbeaten, career-best 131 that included seven towering sixes, and inspired New Zealand to thrash Pakistan by 110 runs in a key Group A encounter on Tuesday night.

Moving outside the off-stump, going down on one knee and smashing the ball repeatedly over the mid-wicket region, Taylor went absolutely berserk as Kiwis notched up 92 runs off their last four overs to take their score to a daunting 302 for seven after electing to bat. Pakistan produced an equally sorry performance with the bat and managed just 192. Only Abdul Razzaq (62) showed stomach for a fight, adding 67 runs in a ninth-wicket partnership with Umar Gul.

This was Pakistan’s first defeat in the tournament, and a big one too. New Zealand enjoyed their best One-day game in a long, long time and also produced one of their finest World Cup performances.

On Tuesday, however, Ross was the boss. There are a few people the Kiwi needs to send a ‘thank you’ card to after his memorable party. The first on that list must surely be Pakistan wicketkeeper Kamran Akmal, who dropped him twice, the second chance an absolute dolly, even before Taylor could get off the mark. The second ‘card’ must have skipper Daniel Vettori’s name on it. The captain kept his faith in Taylor even after his long run of failures.

Just before this game, Vettori rubbished the query that he was re-thinking Taylor’s position in the team. “I think your best players are the ones that help you win the World Cup. And Taylor is definitely one of our best. He likes to take the responsibility and performs when he is in form. I expect him to win a game for us at some stage of the tournament. And hopefully it is tomorrow.” Vettori’s faith was repaid and how!

The third ‘Thank you’ card must be addressed to Pakistan pacemen Shoaib Akhtar and Abdul Razzaq. Both fed Taylor with ‘hit-me’ balls. Towards the end, Taylor and Jacob Oram (25, 9b, 1×4, 3×6) tore Pakistan into shreds plundering 85 off just 22 balls for the seventh wicket.

Akhtar gifted full tosses which Taylor whacked over mid-wicket. Twenty-eight runs came off that 47th over but there was more to come. Razzaq, who bowled the 49th, gave away 30 as Taylor hit three sixes and two fours. Till the 47th over, Pakistan had the game well under control. Martin Guptill’s 57 (86b, 6×4) was the only thing New Zealand could cheer about. Then ‘Typhoon Ross’ happened.

Pakistan have to blame themselves for having persisted with a blundering Akmal. Their fielding was, as usual, pathetic and the slog overs bowling clueless. The batsmen panicked under the weight of the opposition’s heavy total and perished to full, swinging deliveries from the Kiwi bowlers, who bowled a far better line and length than their Pakistani counterparts.

Later, Taylor even got to lead the Kiwis, as Vettori hurt his knee. What a special night on a special day!

Source: Times of India

Where Ireland went, Canada could not follow as their dreams of a World Cup fairytale were blown away by Shahid Afridi. For three-quarters of the game Canada had hustled Pakistan into a corner, only for Afridi to lash out with five wickets to seal Pakistan’s qualification to the quarter finals.

While Afridi’s speculative batting may long since have gone bust, his bowling has grown into a model of menacing consistency which has placed him well in front as the tournament’s leading wicket-taker with 14 scalps from three games.

Chasing a modest 184 after a lethargic Pakistan batting effort, Canada had scrapped hard to reach 104 for 3 with 17 overs remaining. Even in conditions that had been refreshingly inviting for bowlers, it was an equation within Canada’s reach, but Pakistan’s jack-in-the-box captain sprung to life to wipe out the lower and middle order.

It was Saeed Ajmal, back in the side in place of Abdur Rehman, who started the collapse when he dismissed the obdurate Zubin Surkari lbw. The appeal was initially denied by umpire Daryl Harper, but the much-maligned DRS proved the bowler right. It was one of a number of decisions that Harper had to reverse as, in a single innings, the merits of umpire technology were given a perfect advertisement.

Surkari’s dismissal brought the destructive Rizwan Cheema to the crease and with the target still in sight it seemed scripted that Cheema would bash his adopted country to glory against the land of his birth, but after starting with a bang over midwicket he ended with a whimper – missing an Afridi googly to lose his off bail.

Afridi’s next over all but sealed the match with a slider rushing through Jimmy Hansra’s defences. Hansra had played with the sort of calculated daring that underpinned Ireland’s success in Bangalore but could not last long enough. Afridi was aloft in celebration a ball later when he bowled Harvir Baidwan to set up a hat-trick delivery. Though he didn’t get it, he sealed his five-wicket haul when Wahab Riaz held a Tyson Gordon skier.

As if to emphasise his hold on the occasion Afridi even managed to conjure another scalp after finishing his bowling stint, hitting direct from mid-on to catch the wheezing Balaji Rao short. It meant Pakistan finished a game with all the zest that was missing from a forgettable batting display.

Were it not for a stodgy 73-run stand between Misbah-ul-Haq and Umar Akmal, Pakistan may well have joined England on the receiving end of a World Cup shock. Before they came together Pakistan were rocking at 67 for 4 and lost five wickets for 44 after their stand was broken. Misbah was as calm as ever and nursed his more volatile partner through an organised, pragmatic and thoroughly un-Pakistani partnership.

Either side of that pair it was a overconfident display as the batsmen lacked the intensity to buckle down and keep the scoreboard moving in the face of an energetic Canada effort. Using the heavy atmosphere and sporting pitch, all the Canadian bowlers caused trouble but it was the contrasting aggression of seamer Baidwan and rotund legspinner Rao who starred, constantly prodding and probing the Pakistan batsmen who were unable to raise their games.

It left Canada dreaming at the half-way stage, but Afridi intervened when his team needed him most.

Sahil Dutta is an assistant editor at ESPNcricinfo

Pakistan notched up a close victory over Sri Lanka in their second ICC Cricket World Cup encounter in Colombo on Saturday.

Skipper Afridi snapped up four wickets, picking his 300th ODI wicket in the process, as Sri Lanka crumbled in the face of a stiff target. Shoaib Akhtar was lethal as well, getting the crucial wicket of Mahela Jaywardene with a reverse-swinging peach.

Chamara Silva (57) and skipper Kumar Sangakkara (49) were the only batsmen who offered some resistance for Sri Lanka in an otherwise weak reply.

Pakistan’s batting revolved around Misbah (83 not out off 81 balls) and Younus (72 off 76 balls), who put on 108 in about 20 overs to lend stability to the innings.

Rangana Herath claimed two wickets while Muttiah Muralitharan bowled a miserly spell of one for 34 in 10 overs, but Sri Lanka failed to effect breakthroughs as Pakistan cruised to a competitive total.

Batting first after winning the toss Pakistan were off to a solid start racing to 65 in 10 overs after losing Ahmed Shehzad (13) early on.

Mohammed Hafeez and Kamran Akmal added 48 in 7.2 overs but a bizarre run-out ended Hafeez’s innings prematurely at 32.

Kamran (39) could not put the mix-up behind him and threw away his wicket by charging down the pitch to spinner Herath only to be stumped by Kumara Sangakkara.

Younus Khan and Misbah-ul-Haq kept the score board ticking by rotating the strike and took Pakistan past 150 after 29 overs.

Younus reached his second successive half-century of the tournament off 56 balls and Misbah followed suit a few overs later – with the Test captain’s half-century coming off 65 balls with just a solitary boundary.

The third-wicket stand accumulated 100 at a healthy rate, but Herath broke the partnership eight runs later by having Younus caught at short fine-leg.

Having reached 224 for four in 43 overs, Pakistan opted for the batting powerplay but Muralitharan gave only two in his final two overs and sent back Umar Akmal for 10.

In all Pakistan managed only 36 in the final powerplay and lost captain Shahid Afridi for 12-ball 16 in the penultimate over of the innings.

Abdul Razak was holed out to the last ball of the innings but had added 10 with Misbah who was unbeaten on 83.

Source: ESPNSTAR Cricket

Shahid Afridi took five wickets and Umar Akmal scored one of four half-centuries as Pakistan crushed Kenya by 205 runs to get their World Cup campaign off to a flying start on Wednesday.

Hapless Kenya found their opponents too hot to handle after Umar hit a 52-ball 71 to anchor Pakistan’s challenging total of 317-7 before they bundled out their rivals for just 112 in 33.1 overs.

Once Pakistan introduced spin, Kenyan wickets fell quickly with Afridi unplayable in the day-night match at Mahinda Rajapakse stadium.

Only Collins Obuya, with 47, and three other batsmen managed to reach double figures as Kenya, bowled out for a paltry 69 in their first match against New Zealand on Sunday, faltered again.

Pakistan headed for a 300-plus total thanks to Umar Akmal (71), Misbah-ul-Haq (65), Kamran Akmal (55) and Younis Khan (50) as four batsmen scored half-centuries for the ninth time in a World Cup match.

Man of the match Umar, 21, playing his first World Cup tie, gave the innings a final flourish, sharing a rapid 118-run stand for the fifth wicket with in-form Haq who was equally aggressive during his 69-ball stay.

With Umar and Haq in full swing, Pakistan racked up 70 runs in the batting powerplay, with the junior Akmal hitting four boundaries off one Elijah Otieno over.

Haq, Pakistan’s best batsman in the recent Test and one-day series in New Zealand, also added 45 for the fourth wicket with Khan before giving impetus to the innings with Umar to help Pakistan put up an impressive total.

Haq, whose first scoring shot was a six, hit one more six and a single boundary, while Umar notched eight boundaries and a six before holing out off Thomos Odoyo who finished with 3-41.

Odoyo conceded 20 wides in an embarrassing team total of 46 extras.

Kenya equalled the highest number of wides bowled in a one-day innings of 37 conceded by the West Indies against Pakistan at Brisbane in 1989.

Pakistan had been sluggish at the start with openers Mohammad Hafeez (nine) and Ahmed Shahzad (one) falling in quick succession, leaving their team struggling at 12-2.

Hafeez was the first to go, failing to keep a drive down as a diving Seren Waters picked up a beautiful catch at short mid-wicket.

Two overs later, Shahzad, who scored his first run after 13 deliveries, was caught by skipper Jimmy Kamande off Odoyo.

Khan and Kamran revived the innings through a solid 98-run stand for the third wicket, pushing for singles off some tight bowling.

Pakistan next take on Sri Lanka, winners against Canada in their first match, on Saturday. Kenya meet Sri Lanka on March 1 with both matches in Colombo.

Source: Yahoo Cricket

England completed their sixth successive Test victory – and opened up a 2-0 npower series lead over Pakistan – with nine wickets to spare on the fourth afternoon at Edgbaston.

Only the early departure of Alastair Cook cast any temporary lingering doubt over the outcome in another dominant performance.

Cook’s dismissal left the hosts seven for one, in pursuit of 118. But captain Andrew Strauss and Jonathan Trott responded with unbeaten 53s in an unbroken century stand which eased England through the remainder of a sunny morning and then beyond their modest target.

Pakistan’s second innings finished on 296 all out, in only the second over today when number 11 Mohammad Asif was last out – pushing a simple catch to Kevin Pietersen at gully off Stuart Broad.

England’s pursuit then began unconvincingly on a surface where low bounce and turn for off-spinner Saeed Ajmal had become the main dangers.

Cook extended his run of poor form, stuck on the crease to Mohammad Aamer and bowled by one he would normally have played forward to.

There would have been more for England to worry about had wicketkeeper Zulqarnain Haider, Pakistan’s batting hero yesterday, clung on to an outside edge behind the stumps when Strauss went after a short ball in Ajmal’s first over.

That would have been 17 for two – with both openers gone. But Pakistan, whose catching has been faulty all match, could not afford any such slips in an equation which allowed them no room for error.

Haider committed another, in near action replay but from a more defensive Strauss bat off Ajmal, when the England captain was 12 short of his 108-ball fifty.

Strauss needed another slice of luck five runs later, Asif failing to get more than a fingertip on a swirling catch running back at mid-off from the part-time off-spin of Shoaib Malik.

Trott’s chanceless half-century came up with a resounding cover-drive off Malik for his sixth four from the 100th ball he faced.

Despite the fightback engineered by Haider’s battling 88, which at least forced England to make fourth-innings runs, the tourists had made many of their own problems.

They had only themselves to blame for collapsing to 72 after winning the toss, an already untenable position from which no one has recovered sufficiently to win a Test since the 19th century.

Source: ECB

Against all expectation Pakistan carried the second Test into the fourth day against an increasingly agitated England team as Zulqarnain Haider played the innings of his life to defy the hosts with 88 off 200 balls. When Graeme Swann bagged his fourth wicket – on the way to a career-best 6 for 60 – the visitors were 101 for 6, but Zulqarnain found outstanding support in the contrasting styles of Mohammad Amir and Saeed Ajmal to build a lead of 112 and finally make the series a contest.

Zulqarnain added 115 with Ajmal, who played his part with a gusty maiden Test fifty from 77 balls despite taking a peppering from England’s quick bowlers, after initially stemming Pakistan’s latest collapse as he and Amir blocked their way through 36 overs. England, especially a hot-headed Stuart Broad, grew increasingly frustrated on a day where the home side’s lofty fielding standards slipped before Swann finally broke through late on.

The day, though, belonged to one man’s single-minded determination yet it could all have ended first ball for Zulqarnain. He will have become an immediate fan of the UDRS when he avoided becoming the first Pakistan batsman to bag a king pair after being given out lbw to Swann. Five hours later he lofted Swann to deep mid-off, 12 short of the hundred he deserved, but having lifted the spirits of a nation.

His resolute defence certainly got under the skin of Broad who was convinced he had Zulqarnain caught behind but there wasn’t enough evidence to overturn the on-field not-out decision. At the end of the over Broad then hurled the ball back at Zulqarnain, which led to the umpires having a word to Andrew Strauss about his fast bowler.

It was another day where Broad will have gained the interest of the match referee having failed to turn around during an appeal in the morning session when he thought Azhar Ali had edged to the keeper. However, on this occasion the review wasn’t called and it proved the correct decision as Azhar had missed the ball by miles and Broad was left a little embarrassed.

Amir was another obstacle for England, showing up his top-order colleagues with a sturdy defence. He was given three lives, first when Broad compounded his problems with a wild throw when Amir had 1 and would have been well short, then Paul Collingwood – who earlier dropped Imran Frahat – couldn’t gather a gentle chance at slip off Swann and Alastair Cook missed an opportunity at silly point off Collingwood.

Broad eventually extracted Amir with the second new ball when he edged to first slip, but there was no shifting Zulqarnain as he slowly started to come out of his shell. He took the attack to Swann – at one point backing well outside leg – and reached fifty from 150 balls which was celebrated with gusto. He got under the skin of England’s bowlers with his mannerisms at the crease, and the fact the hosts became riled is the biggest compliment they could have paid Zulqarnain.

Ajmal, though, was the one provided the innings impetus as he gave as he good as he got, pulling Broad and Steven Finn through the leg side and showing a straight bat to Swann. However, in the over after he greeted his fifty with a roar to the dressing room he edged Swann low to slip after the offspinner had switch to round the wicket.

It was a tough day for England’s attack and Swann was far and away the pick having barely played a part – except at second slip – until today. He struck in his first over and claimed three more in his first spell which, at one stage, included 67 consecutive dot balls as he bowled 17 maidens in a 24-over unchanged stint until being given a break shortly before tea.

Swann was introduced towards the end of the opening hour, after the quicks failed to break through, and began with a magical ball to remove Farhat as his third delivery dipped in towards leg stump then gripped and turned past a lunging batsman to take the top of off stump. A year ago Swann produced a pearler on this ground to remove Ricky Ponting, but this delivery has every right to be the finest of his career.

Swann, though, was just getting started. He then produced a Ponting-like ball to remove Azhar as the right hander was suckered into driving against the spin and was bowled through the gate. There was almost a third for Swann straight away when Umar Akmal showed his complete lack of understanding of Test cricket by charging his first delivery, another one which spun through the gate, but Matt Prior couldn’t make a tough take.

It was with some irony, then, that Akmal’s innings was ended in the most defensive fashion as he padded up to a straight ball from Swann. He tried to save himself with a review, but the ball was clipping the bails. Another beautiful piece of bowling from Swann did for Umar Amin and the end looked close. In fact, the match was just getting interesting.

Andrew McGlashan is an assistant editor at Cricinfo