PLAYER OF THE MATCH UMAR AKMAL
Pakistan broke Australia's 34-match winning streak after edging them out by four wickets in the ICC Cricket World Cup in Colombo on Saturday.It was Pakistan who had last inflicted a World Cup defeat on the defending champions - 12 years ago at Headingley - and they required 41 overs to knock off the 177 required on Saturday.
A disciplined performance from the Pakistani bowlers to completely dominate the world champions! The Aussie innings never got going and struggled throughout to put up a sizable stand. There were flurry of wickets and apart from a 63-run stand between Ponting and Haddin none of the batsmen succeeded and looked vulnerable against the spin and swing on offer. Credit to Afridi for making smart bowling changes and his bowlers delivered as well. Umar Gul was the pick of the bowlers with a three-for and every other chipped in as well.
That's a comprehensive victory for the Asian side. They bowled superbly to bundle out the opposition to a paltry total and chased it down with a little bit of stutter. Asad Shafiq(46) anchored the innings and was involved in couple of crucial partnerships with Younus Khan and Umar Akmal. The latter batted through out and steered his side beyond the finish line. The Australian bowlers toiled hard but without much success. Brett Lee bowled his heart out and claimed the top four wickets but lacked support from the other end.
No comments:
Post a Comment