October 26, 2021 – Page 5 – Newswire Pakistan

October 26, 2021October 27, 2021

Pakistan leaves it late to beat New Zealand

Dubai, October 26, 2021 (PPI-OT):Pakistan left it late to secure a five-wicket victory over New Zealand to continue their unbeaten start in Group 2 of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2021.

New Zealand were restricted by both spin and seam, with pace bowler Haris Rauf taking four for 22 as the Blackcaps made 134 for eight from their 20 overs.

Pakistan got off to a slow start in reply making 55 off their first 10 overs before Shoaib Malik, 26 not out off 20, and Asif Ali, 27 not out from 12 balls, powered them to victory.

Shaheen Shah Afridi started tamely for his standards, having taken one for two in his first over against India, bowling a wicket-less maiden over after Pakistan won the toss and chose to field.

With New Zealand making good progress at 36 for no loss after five overs, captain Babar Azam brought on death-overs specialist Rauf, with the bowler making an instant impact.

The first ball was right at Martin Guptill’s feet, and the second delivery he could do nothing about as it clattered off his thigh pad and into the stumps, as Guptill was forced to limp off having made 17 from 20.

Not having had the chance to bat against India, Fakhar Zaman was in the game taking two catches to dismiss Daryl Mitchell and Jimmy Neesham.

With New Zealand going at a run a ball, Kane Williamson was then given out lbw but a reprieve on review gave him a new lease of life as he scored three fours in a row to push New Zealand up to 90 for 3.

That would be his last contribution as he was run out for 25 off 26 balls, and with Williamson gone, New Zealand reverted back to their run-a-ball approach with Glenn Phillips and Devon Conway trading singles.

The pair would soon be out in the space of three balls, Rauf picking them both up to leave New Zealand 116 for six.

Afridi may have begun quietly, but he ended his spell to raucous cheers, using a slower ball to deceive Tim Seifert with Rauf then picking up Mitchell Santner to leave Pakistan with a target of 135.

Captain Azam and Mohammad Rizwan were not able to repeat their unbeaten partnership against India, the pair adding 28 before Azam was bowled by Tim Southee who claimed his 100th T20I wicket.

With his partner gone, Rizwan was not at his free-flowing best and by the time Zaman was given out lbw on review, he had only made 24 off 26 balls, well below his average strike rate of 130.

Conway then took a world-class catch at full-stretch in the deep to dismiss Hafeez for 11 and Rizwan was next to go, trapped lbw by Ish Sodhi for 33 with Pakistan needing 66 from just over eight overs to win.

Pakistan were faltering before Ali crashed back-to-back maximums off Southee to put the Men in Green back on top and he knocked off the winning runs with eight balls to spare.

Scores in brief

Pakistan beat New Zealand at Sharjah Cricket Stadium, Sharjah by five wickets.

New Zealand 134/8, in 20 overs (Devon Conway 27, Daryl Mitchell 27; Haris Rauf 4-22, Mohammad Hafeez 1-16)

Pakistan 135/5, in 18.4 overs (Mohammad Rizwan 33, Asif Ali 27 not out; Ish Sodhi 2-28; Tim Southee 1-25)

Player of the Match: Haris Rauf (Pakistan)

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October 26, 2021October 27, 2021

South Africa cruise to first Super 12s win over the West Indies

Dubai, October 26, 2021 (PPI-OT):South Africa beat the West Indies at a canter to open their Super 12s account and leave their opponents staring at an early ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2021 exit.

The Proteas limited the West Indies to 143 for eight as Dwaine Pretorious took three wickets late on to put the brakes on an innings which had looked set to reach a far more imposing total after opener Evin Lewis’s blistering 56.

In reply, South Africa rallied well from the early loss of captain Temba Bavuma and never looked in trouble in pursuit of the runs as Aiden Markram’s destructive 51 not out from just 26 balls broke the West Indies’ resolve en route to an eight-wicket win.

Given the West Indies’ net run rate took a heavy hit in the six-wicket defeat to England, a second consecutive loss leaves the defending champions desperate for favourable results against Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Australia if they are to stand a chance of making the semi-finals.

South Africa made one change from the defeat to Australia as Quinton de Kock was replaced at the top of the order by Reeza Hendricks, with Heinrich Klaasen taking the gloves.

Unsurprisingly, Bavuma invited the West Indies to bat first at Dubai International Stadium, the same venue where they capitulated to 55 all out against England on Sunday.

That performance appeared to still be fresh in their minds as they made a very cautious start, edging to just six for none off the first three overs, part-timer Markram even squeezing in a maiden.

But then opener Lewis got going in some style, smashing three sixes and three fours, as his side blitzed 37 off 18 balls to reach 43 without loss at the end of a topsy-turvy powerplay.

However, it was not without a scare, as Lendl Simmons – who was making exceptionally slow progress – benefitted from stand-in gloveman Klaasen shelling a dolly off Anrich Nortje, whose pace forced an edge behind in the first over of a miserly spell of one for 14.

Lewis kept sending balls flying into the stands and when he slog-swept Tabraiz Shamsi into the crowd, he brought up a marvellous half-century from only 32 balls.

Having registered a sixth maximum off Keshav Maharaj, Lewis perished the next ball when immediately looking for a seventh, Kagiso Rabada holding a catch out on the boundary.

Nicholas Pooran came to the crease at No.3 ahead of Chris Gayle and took 12 from the bowling of Shamsi in the 12th over before his sprightly seven-ball cameo ended when he became Maharaj’s second victim.

At the other end, Simmons was bowled by Rabada after a 35-ball vigil that produced just 16 runs and tied the record for the joint-longest innings without a boundary in ICC Men’s T20 World Cup history.

Gayle and captain Kieron Pollard shared a stand of 32 in just under four overs before both fell to Pretorious, who finished with three for 17 having bowled the key 18th and 20th overs.

Gayle’s dismissal sparked a collapse of four for 22 as the West Indies finished on 143, well short of what they would have been expecting after Lewis’ pyrotechnics.

South Africa’s chase got off to the worst possible start when Bavuma was run out for two by a super Andre Russell direct hit from the last ball of the first over.

But on his first appearance at the tournament, Hendricks looked especially fluent alongside Rassie van der Dussen as the Proteas made serene progress to get up to 42 for one at the end of the powerplay.

The pair brought up their 50 partnership before the previously untroubled Hendricks was expertly caught by a diving Shimron Hetmyer in the deep off the bowling of Akeal Hosein.

Hendricks’s 39 off 30 balls left South Africa 61 for two and firmly in touch with the required rate that was at that stage slightly more than 7.5 runs an over.

Markram waltzed to the crease and, after making 40 against Australia, continued his fine form, rapidly finding himself on 22 off just 11 balls after some lusty blows put South Africa firmly in the driving seat.

Van der Dussen, 43 off 51, anchored the innings perfectly as Markram added the fastest half-century of the competition so far as together they shared an unbeaten match-winning stand of 83 from 57 balls to earn South Africa their first win with ten balls to spare.

Scores in Brief

South Africa beat West Indies at Dubai International Cricket Stadium, Dubai by eight wickets

West Indies 143/8 in 20 overs (Evin Lewis 56, Kieron Pollard 26; Dwaine Pretorious 3/17, Keshav Maharaj 2/24, Anrich Nortje 1/14)

South Africa 144/2 in 18.2 overs (Aiden Markram 51 not out, Rassie van der Dussen 43 not out; Akeal Hosein 1/27)

Player of the Match: Anrich Nortje

October 26, 2021October 27, 2021

Williamson refuses to panic after Pakistan loss

Dubai, October 26, 2021 (PPI-OT):Kane Williamson was magnanimous in defeat after his New Zealand side pushed Pakistan all the way before succumbing to a five-wicket loss in a Super 12s thriller.

Haris Rauf took four for 22 and Asif Ali crashed 27 off 12 balls to see Pakistan to a second victory at the ICC Men’s T20 Cricket World Cup 2021.

Williamson admitted that Ali, who hit three sixes, the same as New Zealand made in their 20 overs, timed the ball better than anyone.

“It was a tough surface to time the ball on and someone like Shoaib Malik batting through and finishing off with a couple of blows,” he said.

“And Asif Ali who came in and hit the ball beautifully, much sweeter than anybody else on a tricky surface.

“Unfortunately, it didn’t quite go our way and I suppose if we look at the opposition and how clinical they were at the death and not allowing us to time the ball, they were the highest class and for us it’s trying to take some of those learnings and move forward.”

New Zealand will face India next, whom Pakistan beat by ten wickets on Sunday, and they will be without Lockie Ferguson who pulled out of the tournament with a calf tear prior to a ball being bowled in the Pakistan game.

Williamson was also full of praise for Pakistan’s bowlers, with Rauf the pick of the bunch taking four wickets from his four overs.

He said: “The guys went out and competed really well and made a lot of good decisions along the way and when you play those low scoring matches on tough surfaces, like we did tonight, the game has very small margins, and unfortunately, when it counted, a couple of misses means a lot.

“There’s a lot to learn from those experiences but at the end of the day, Pakistan were outstanding and they finished the game of beautifully on it on a very tough surface.

“Their bowlers were outstanding today as they were the other night in their first match, which we expected that to be the case.

“They continued to deliver and they were outstanding in their performance for Pakistan.”

Despite falling to a five-wicket defeat, Williamson believes there is plenty his side can take from the loss.

“I think we would have liked about another five or 10 runs although we thought we had what would have been a very good total in the first half,” he added.

“But in hindsight, you want a few more. There were a lot of really important roles that allowed us to get that competitive total so I think there was a lot of good to take from it.”

October 26, 2021October 27, 2021

Markram a class apart for South Africa

Dubai, October 26, 2021 (PPI-OT):Aiden Markram is in a class of his own when it comes to South African cricket. The 27-year-old is the only male or female player to lift an ICC trophy for the Proteas after he captained the Under-19s to glory at the 50-over World Cup in 2014.

But if things go to plan come the end of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2021, Temba Bavuma will join him in that exclusive club.

And as it stands, Markram is single-handedly doing his best to drag his team towards the semi-finals, showing terrific form with the bat in the UAE, the very same place where he tasted glory seven years ago.

In the Proteas’ Super 12s opener against Australia, the team struggled, posting just 118 for nine when batting first but Markram’s standout showing was an anomaly.

A fluent 40 off 36 balls was a lone hand in a disappointing start to the tournament as, despite a strong reply with the ball, an under-par total proved costly in a five-wicket defeat.

South Africa knew that defeat to the West Indies would leave their hopes of making the semi-finals hanging by a thread and Markram played a starring role with bat and ball when it mattered most.

Tasked with opening the bowling, the part-timer went for four from the opening over of the contest and remarkably recorded a maiden in the third over.

Perhaps getting greedy, his skipper Bavuma handed him a third straight over which this time went for 18 runs as Evin Lewis plundered two sixes and a four from his final three balls.

However, figures of none for 22 from three overs at the top, including 11 dot balls, are not to be sniffed at.

Faced with a potentially tricky chase, needing 144 to win, South Africa lost Bavuma early and although Reeza Hendricks’ 39 off 30 helped keep them up with the rate, the game was very much still firmly in the balance when Markram arrived at 61 for two in the tenth over.

But a blistering display of power-hitting took the game completely away from the West Indies as Markram brought up his 50 from just 25 balls, striking at an incredible rate of 200 with four sixes and two fours to boot.

Fittingly, he hit the winning single, to finish on 51 not out off 26, after excelling as the aggressor in a match-winning partnership of 83 in 57 balls alongside Rassie van der Dussen, who anchored the innings with 43 off 51.

South Africa’s commanding eight-wicket win keeps them in the hunt in Group 1 of the Super 12 stage and their star batter appears to have hit the ground running courtesy of a spell in the UAE for the IPL with the Punjab Kings.

Before the ICC Men’s World T20 2021 started, he spoke about his time at the IPL and said: “It was very enjoyable. Obviously different to how other teams work. It was nice to experience it.

“It was nice to see the conditions where we are going to play the World Cup. That was also a big positive. A lot of learning took place. It was a good few weeks that I was with the Kings.

“It is also quite a high-pressure tournament, and it was good to be exposed to such quality cricket and be exposed to some legends of T20 cricket.”

Markram also plucked a tremendous diving catch out of the sky against Australia to dismiss Steve Smith, proving he is a real force to be reckoned with in all three facets of the shortest form of the game.

If teams are to stop South Africa, the key could rest in keeping the man once earmarked by Graeme Smith as a future Test captain quiet.

October 26, 2021October 27, 2021

Milne approved as replacement for Ferguson in New Zealand Squad

Dubai, October 26, 2021 (PPI-OT):The Event Technical Committee of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2021 has approved Adam Milne as a replacement for Lockie Ferguson in the New Zealand squad.

Fast bowler Milne, who has played 40 ODIs and 23 T20Is, was named as a replacement after Ferguson was ruled out due to a calf injury. Milne was a reserve as per the allowance for teams to travel with extra players in view of COVID-19 quarantine requirements.

The replacement of a player requires the approval of the Event Technical Committee before the replacement player can be officially added to the squad.

The Event Technical Committee of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2021 consists of Chris Tetley (Head of Events, Chair), Clive Hitchcock (ICC Senior Cricket Operations Manager), Rahul Dravid and Dhiraj Malhotra (BCCI Representatives), Simon Doull and Ian Bishop (Independent Members).

October 26, 2021October 27, 2021

The see-saw nature of Pakistan’s victory over New Zealand

Dubai, October 26, 2021 (PPI-OT):There were times where Pakistan looked to be moving towards an easy victory over New Zealand, and there were plenty of other times where they did not have it all their own way.

In the end, Pakistan triumphed by five wickets, chasing down 134 with just eight balls to spare.

The Men in Green have now won their opening two matches at an ICC Men’s T20 World Cup for only the second time, while for New Zealand their Super 12s involvement starts with defeat.

There were several key moments that contributed to the see-saw nature of Pakistan’s win, beginning first with Shaheen Shah Afridi’s opening over.

Afridi set the tone for Pakistan’s bowling innings, beginning with a maiden against Martin Guptill and when the next three overs saw Pakistan concede only one boundary per over, they felt firmly in control.

New Zealand then identified Hasan Ali as the bowler to target after he went for 44 runs against India, and the Black Caps took 15 runs off him, including five runs off a no-ball to move to 36 for none after five overs, they were now in the ascendancy.

Babar Azam decided to roll the dice in the final over of the powerplay with Haris Rauf coming on much early than his usual death-bowling slot.

The gamble paid off as Haris bowled Guptill with his second ball and conceded only six of the rest of the over.

He would not be called upon again until the second half of the innings but again his involvement would prove vital.

With three overs to go, New Zealand were 116 for four and Devon Conway and Glenn Phillips looked to kick on but a big heave down to cow corner saw Conway caught by Babar.

Two balls later Phillips was following him back to the hutch and Pakistan were again firmly on top.

The final deliveries of both Afridi and Haris took wickets to reduce New Zealand to 134 for eight, a total captain Williamson still thought was defendable.

As Pakistan began their innings there were none of the fireworks of two nights before when Babar and Rizwan had put on an unbroken stand of 152 to guide Pakistan to a famous victory over India.

It was not until the final ball of the 11th over that Pakistan’s innings really caught alight, and instead it was New Zealand, or more specifically, Conway who was on fire.

Conway adopted the superhero pose and at full-stretch plucked out a ball that Mohammad Hafeez must have been sure was sailing for six.

Instead, Hafeez was gone after making 11 off six balls, just as he looked to be getting going.

The odds, and the win predictor, were now in New Zealand’s favour and it was up to Asif Ali and Shoaib Malik to do something about it.

And that is what they did, Asif timing the ball better than anyone had done all night, his back-to-back sixes made New Zealand’s target seem far less daunting than it had done two balls before.

And it was he who hit the winning runs, taking two off Trent Boult to secure Pakistan a victory that hadn’t always looked as likely as he ultimately made it seem.