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Lee celebrates one of 4 wickets. -Photo by AP
COLOMBO: Paceman Umar Gul claimed three victims as Pakistan beat Australia by four wickets on Saturday, ending the defending champions’ unbeaten 34-match World Cup run and capturing top spot in Group A.
Gul took 3-30 to help Pakistan dismiss Australia for 176 — their lowest World Cup total since 1992 — before Umar Akmal hit an unbeaten 44 to steer Pakistan to victory in 41 overs, finishing top of the pool with 10 points.
Pakistan, champions in 1992, will play the fourth placed team in Group B, while Australia (nine points) finished third behind Sri Lanka (nine points) on run-rate and will play the second placed team from Group B.
Saturday’s loss was Australia’s first in the World Cup since losing to Pakistan by 10 runs in Leeds in 1999.
But the champions, led by spearhead Brett Lee (4-28), fought hard and twice raised hopes of an unlikely win.
Pakistan were cruising along on 98-2 before Lee derailed the chase in his first over of his second spell, dismissing Younis Khan (31) and Misbah-ul-Haq for a first-ball duck — both caught by keeper Brad Haddin.
Mitchell Johnson removed Asad Shafiq (46) while Jason Krejza tempted skipper Shahid Afridi (two) to hole out in the deep, but Umar and Abdul Razzaq (20 not out) saw their team home with a cautious 36-run stand for the seventh wicket.
Razzaq hit two boundaries off spinner Jason Krejza to complete the victory.
Lee had taken two wickets in his first spell, taking a smart catch off his own bowling to dismiss opener Mohammad Hafeez (five) before trapping Kamran Akmal lbw for 23.
Shafiq, who hit five boundaries during his 81-ball knock, added 53 with Younis and 41 with Umar to keep Pakistan on track.
Earlier, Gul and Razzaq (2-8) exposed the untested Australian batting after Ricky Ponting won the toss and decided to bat on a seemingly flat R. Premadasa stadium pitch.
Haddin (42), Michael Clarke (34) and Steve Smith (25) offered some resistance as Pakistan applied relentless pressure to take the last seven Australian wickets for a mere 59 runs after they were 117-3.
Pakistan, who opened the attack with left-arm spinner Abdur Rehman from one end, forced an early breakthrough when Gul bowled opener Shane Watson with a sharp incoming delivery for nine.
Haddin added 63 for the second wicket with Ponting (19) before Pakistan struck twice, with Hafeez removing the Australian skipper off a miscued cut, caught by wicket-keeper Kamran Akmal.
Umpire Marais Erasmus of South Africa turned down a vociferous appeal before Pakistan successfully overturned the verdict on review to leave Australia 75-2.
Left-arm paceman Wahab Riaz then had Haddin caught behind by Kamran in the 24th over. Haddin hit three boundaries and a six during his 80-ball knock.
Pakistan then took four crucial wickets in the space of just 30 runs to reduce the Australians to 147-7, including wickets of Clarke and Michael Hussey for 12.
Gul removed Krejza and Lee cheaply to wrap the Australian innings for their sixth lowest World Cup total.
Teams:
Australia: Ricky Ponting (capt), Shane Watson, Brad Haddin, Michael Clarke, Michael Hussey, Cameron White, Steve Smith, Mitchell Johnson, Jason Krejza, Brett Lee, Shaun Tait.
Pakistan: Shahid Afridi (capt), Misbah-ul-Haq, Mohammad Hafeez, Kamran Akmal, Younis Khan, Asad Shafiq, Umar Akmal, Abdul Razzaq, Abdur Rehman, Umar Gul, Wahab Riaz.
Umpires: Tony Hill (NZL) and Marais Erasmus (RSA)
Tv umpire: Tyron Wijewardena (SRI)
Match referee: Chris Broad (ENG)
Pitch conditions: A slow pitch which looks brown and is likely to help spinners, but the turn will not be vicious.
Aus will win the world up…
Afridi is seen on camera scolding his players. While I admire him as a player, I don't think he is as good a captain.
If Hafeez is selected as a bowler then why not try him at No. 7 or 8 as the openers put pressure on the team and if Asad has to face the music in the first or 2nd over then let him open the innings.
SHAHID AFREEDI SHOULD BEHAVE LIKE A CAPTAIN WHILE BATTING. HE SHOULD SHOW SOME RESPONSIBILITY AND SLOWLY START. THERE WAS NO NEED FO RHIM TO HIT LOFTY-SHOTS SOON AFTER ARRIVING AT THE CREASE. THERE WAS ENOUGH TIME AND SMALL TOTAL. HIS CARELESSNESS WOULD HAVE BROUGHT A COLLAPSE. THANK GOD, A.AZZAK WAS THERE.
First of all u should learn the spellings og Afridi then comment. He is a brilliant player , no one is complete r u! u should appreciate him instead ur making bad comments . This is biggest problem with our nation.
Good reply. Afridi is doing great as a captain. We all should appreciate him rather than criticizing him. I agree with your e-mail. Good Luck Pakistani Team. Inshallah they will win World Cup this Year.
Afridi is no captain material. He is not mature enough.
And his reckless play against Australia is inexcusable. He also opted to promote himself while batting against Zimbabwe but failed to break any records. He has been bowling ok. Most ok bowlers bat at no. 11, so I suggest he bat at no.11.
WELL DONE PAKISTAN. ONLY CONCERN FOR THE TEAM IS OPNENERS.IF THE OPNERS PROVIDE 50 PLUS STAND THEN TEAM COULD BE AT TOP.SAEED AJMAL SHOULD BE IN THE SIDE IN PLACE OF REHMAN THEN PAKISTAN WILL GET ONE MORE WICKET TAKING BOWLER.ONCE AGAIN GOOD LUCK FOR AFRIDI AND PARTY.
…stand up for the champions…
this was warm up final for WC 2011..Good luck Pakistan.
ALMIGHTY BLESS.
This was a very good performance from the Pakistani team… to put a stop to the Aussie rampage.
we hope to see you atleast in the semifinals.
ALl the best.
Adit, Delhi
Yes as all said, good performance, especially in fielding.
Conrats!
but I believe Afridi must understand as captain that he is not a perfect hitter of every ball and he put more pressure on the team by give his wicket in 2 to 10 balls. He must understand that he should stay and bat with open eyes, else dude u should come at 11th.
Best of luck for finals and Long Live Pakistan.
Well done Pakistan team! Afridi's team has made us all proud and why not they have the capability to beat any world class team and they have proved couple of times in the past. Good wishes to the team to go on and win the world cup.Afridi is really a match winner…doesn't matter if he is not batting well but other two departments plus captaincy is far above average.
Well done! Now it's time to be cool, a couple of tough ones and then its all your. Good work. God bless you guys.Be cool
Rashid
Well done Team Paksitan. I think, I agree the team should not panic and be confident and bowl best with aggression, field the best with passion and then bat the most aggressive and with determination. I think Afridi should think when he hit and think that he should score a quick fire 30-40 runs as a captain. They should and now be positive of reducing all the teams to scores of 170-210 and then bat with confidence and especially Misbah, and Afridi and Younus and lastly Hafeez should bat and atleast score 40-50 runs a piece. quickly..
They can win world cup god willing and make all the Pakistani nation very happy and bring the WC title back home atleast..
JS
Excellent performance-Pakistan will win the world cup,
Pakistan's victory in this cruicial time for the country has raised hopes for it's good performance ahead..InshaAllah…This performance has made Pakistani nation's heads up in the sky in this time of hardship for the whole nation. This nation really went through too many hardships in the past 2-3 years and any good news is welcome at any front. Long Live Pakistan.
Terrific game, a victory well deserved. I would love to see Shoaib Akhtar in action knowing that this will be his last appearance.
de ghuma ke ghuma ke
i would love to see pakistan win the world cup but nothing can beat this victory for me we are over the moon love u pakistani team
WELL DONE PAKISTAN. CONGRATS & BEST WISHES FOR THE NEXT GAMES!!!!!!!!!!!!! AFRIDI MUST RE-THINK HIS BATTING APPROACH AS YOU MUST NOT TRY TO HIT BOUNDARIES ALL THE TIME. HE MUST TREAT BALLS ON MERIT & SHOULD COME MUCH LOWER IN ORDER, ESPECIALLY NOT BEFORE BUT AFTER RAZZAQ. IF PAK KEEP A COOL HEAD APPROACH, THEY CAN WIN THIS WORLD CUP. BEST WISHES FOR FUTURE SUCCESSES.
Good match. It shows that we don't need Shoaib Akhtar.
this win over aussies shows that Jab Apni Bari Ayegi Sari Dunia Hil Jaigi
Pakistan Zindabad
First off thank God for Pakistan's win. As we all know cricket is totally and completely an unpredictable game. Hard work, focus, good planning & good captaincy do contribute to the results. Pakistan team, in spite of their somewhat poor performances (basically for the reasons of haste & unnecessary chance-taking, & poor fielding), does have the talent and capability to defeat any team! All they require is first, hard work, particularly in fielding, total dedication, sincerity, and confidence in themselves to bring the WC home, Insha-Allah. With all the disgusting things happening on the political front, and the devastation that the public feels in almost all walks of their lives; bringing the WC home would give the nation an unbelievable happiness. Keep up the good work Pak Cricketers.
Waaaaaaao. Alhamdulillah, What Pakistan has done no body could do in previous 12 year, I was in 6th class when last time We beat Australia in 1999, I watched that match…
I feel special after this win, Its something Eid like feeling…
Today's win make me quite optimistic to hope and pray that Team Afridi can bring the cup home.
Best of luck TEam Pakistan
Best of luck Pakistan
Well Done Pakistan ( Dera Manna). I am glad my night was worth watching the green shirts from US. All of the best for the remaining games.
All what has been said, I would say that we have forgotten one very important thing. Pakistan has beaten a team which has record of being unbeaten for 34 matches and they tried their best to defend their meagre score and they have proved many a time that they can do. On the face of all that, if Pakistan won this match, that is because played well in all departments of game. Only flaw was Afridi's adventurous shop and lets hope he will learn from that.
Good luck Pakistan
Well done PAKISTAN!!!!. De ghuma ke aik aur. What do you say to this Mr. Pointing? You want one more?
Well done Pakistani cricket team. Build slowly and surely.
Country ravaged by terrorism & bad news, it is good to see something cheerful.
What is important at this time is that Pakistan has won emphatically and we need to congratulate them warmly. They get enough stick for their failures most of the time. So,lets support and encourage them and stop being armchair critics. Well done and Bravo Pakistan. Keep it up till the end.
Well done Pakistan. Shafique and Umer played very good innings. I was dissapointed the way Younus Khan got out. He was set batsman and the way played that was not appropriate. we need Younus badly as he can play long innings. Good luck Pakistan
Afridi needs to bat well. He is the one who needs to cool down..
It's a good piece of writing; but the image you have chosen not in match with the title. You should have chosen a picture which could show a victorious face or gesture of some Pakistan players… Overall it's pleasant to read.
Mubarak, Mubarak all memberes of Pakistan Team.
Way to go guys. Just hang in there til the end. Meanwhile let Afridi prctice some batting I mean 16 hrs a day, 6 hrs bowling and 10 hrs batting against every bowler specially Shoaib, Gul, Abdul R.
CONGRATS – WELL DESERVING, NEED TO PERFORM TILL THEY WIN THE FINAL IN BOMBAY………………………….
ABID, BURR RIDGE, ILLINOIS
Well done Pakistan. We always have bad news
from the present government but thanks to
the cricket team we are recieving good news
and the nation is happy
Well done Pakistan…..
Victory we all were hoping for a long time
GOOD LUCK in upcoming matches
DE GHOOMAKE
Congratulations Pakistan! It was a great bowling display. Will cheer for Pakistan if not playing against India. Good luck.
From a dominating position the batsmen appeared to be shooting themselves in the foot. Having a better average and performance over the years, Razzaq should bat above Afridi. Consistency is the name of the game, if the team intends to keep winning.
we all are happy that we are in quater final after the 2007 worldcup
Congrates pakistan on such a dominating performance. All my friends who are criticising pakistan batting, should realise that it was not a easy wicket to bat on, other wise wouldn't have been bowled out below 180. Also check the records of teams batting second on this ground.
The win was a lot more sweeter as it was over the arrogant, unsportsmalike Aussie team.
If Afridi controls himself we can go further with ease.
Atlast the Australian pride has been dented, by non other then the Proud green shirts… What a victory! Congratulations Team Pakistan!!! Afridi! for God sake have mercy on us when you come in to bat. Please dont embarass your self by playing silly shots. We know you can be a match winner only if you keep your calm. Asad shafique is becoming a player who can be relied upon. Welldone Umar Gul!!!
Very Well Done Pakistan! Hats off to the Pakistani team for brilliant performance.
congratulation pakistan team for unbelieveable great victory ,hope they will show the same team spirit,great talent, on the upcoming great matches
Hurrah!!!!!!!!!!, I love Pakistan, good thing is now india need to play australia or sri-lanka in quarters……and pakistan will make it in Dhaka on 23rd March, another historic moment going to happen…………Allah Pakistan to kaamiyab karay (Ameen).
Good on you, Pakistan! Let's go all the way!
eventhough i hail from india , well done pakistan this is a turning point grab the momentum and march ahead. all the best
This is great that Pakistan has won this important match. Having said that to make an impact they should have won this game by 7-8 wickets which they easily could but there was a sense of panic you could see in all players except two. It is almost like "hey we have to chase such a small total why make it easy". I am afraid Afridi need to understand that if his confidence in his own batting is low then he doesn't have to come in front of Razzaq. In fact regardless of batting order he needs to watch his two innings in W20 tournament in England. It is very simple if he give himself a chance by not attempting to hit the ball out of the park in first few overs then he could score big. Anyways players need to understand they can't play that sort of cricket all the time. If we had 30-40 more runs on board to chase then this would had been a very different game. Good luck Pakistan in future 3 matches.
Agree, this is second time he is bowled at low run.
Terrific performance from Pakistan.Just only they can do it in breaking unbeaten streak of Aussies.They have proved why I consider them future world beaters.
Congratulations and all the very best for upcoming matches.
Thank you for your comment
Well, they dont get much closer than this scrap!
We came close to a disaster -thanks to the captain when he decided to hit a six!
Well done Pakistan.
Well done Pakistan and well done Gul and young players.
Afridi has not mended himself. In batting order his place should be 11th.
Thank god, Pakistan was not chasing 276 runs. I love my country and love the team but inconsistent performance would not win us the World cup. Good luck and congrats Pakistan!
Long live pakistan
WEll done Pakistan cricket team….. Diya Ghumaa ka Australia ko! Congratulations and best of luck for the next match
i didnt even think that pakistan would win like that… congrats… bravo Pakistan!!!!!
Go Pakistan! Awesome! Now continue this performance till you win the WC title.
Pakistan did it with a calm determination! Now, look for the future fixtures with the same clarity of cool headedness.
Awesome job Pakistan. We are so exited