Sharjeel heroics go in vain as Pakistan flop again

Guptill shines as New Zealand beat Green-shirts by 22 runs to qualify for World T20 semis

MOHALI, India: Pakistan desperately needed a blinder in their battle to survive in the World Twenty20 after New Zealand gave them a hefty victory target of 181 here at the PCA Stadium on Tuesday.

Opener Sharjeel Khan stood up and almost delivered it after Martin Guptill smashed 80 off 48 balls with ten fours and three sixes.

The left-hander belted 47 off 25 balls with nine fours and a towering six to set the platform for a much-needed win but Pakistan squandered it in the later stages of their innings.

There finishing was awful to say the least as Pakistan failed to produce a single boundary in the last 31 deliveries of their innings allowing the match to slip out of their hands.

The so-called ‘young and talented’ duo of Ahmed Shehzad (30 off 32 balls) and Umar Akmal (24 off 26 balls) failed to capitalise on the blistering start. They were unable to clear the boundary or rotate the strike even as the asking rate jumped.

Shahid Afridi, who later said that Friday’s game against Australia could possibly be the last match of his international career, once again came up the order.

He hammered 19 off nine balls with two fours and a six but was undone by a spectacular catch by Corey Anderson at the long-off boundary.

Malik with a 13-ball 15 failed to produce any big hits.

In the end, Pakistan lost by 22 runs and now their faint hopes of progressing to the last four rest on a mathematical chance.

They will have to beat Australia in their last group match here on Friday and then pray that results of other games go their way.

Pakistan have themselves to be blamed for such dismal scenario.

They were given an explosive start by Sharjeel, who was roped in the country’s World Twenty20 squad mainly because of his ability to clear the fence, something that he exhibited with his six-hitting exploits at last month’s Pakistan Super League.

He hadn’t really proved his selection but Sharjeel fired when it mattered most.

Twenty20 matches are often won or loss in the first five or six overs on either side of the breather. On Tuesday, New Zealand clobbered the Pakistani attack to score 55 off their first six before amassing 180 for 5.

Pakistan hammered 66-1 from their first six overs thanks to Sharjeel’s pyrotechnics. At one stage in the fifth over Sharjeel was batting at 43 while Shehzad had scored just seven.

But Sharjeel’s fall in the sixth over halted Pakistan’s progress. They never really recovered from it.

New Zealand, in contrast, were clinical in their approach after opting to bat on a perfect wicket.

After giving Mohammad Amir due respect, Guptill began the onslaught on the eighth ball of the innings, hoisting Mohammad Irfan over the long on boundary for a six. Such shots came thick and fast as the Black Caps raced to 50 off 34 balls.

New Zealand were cruising at 62-0 in 7.1 overs and even two quick wickets in succession failed to put any brakes to their juggernaut.

They continued to score runs at will. Even the good balls were converted into singles and doubles.

Just when Guptill seemed set for what would have been a well-deserved century, Mohammad Sami dismissed him with a fast delivery that the batsman played onto his stumps.

Sami with 2-23 was the pick of the Pakistani bowlers as he scalped the prized wicket of Guptill and more importantly bowled 14 dot balls to stop New Zealand from reaching 200.

The Kiwis scored at a more or less uniform pace scoring their first fifty off 34 balls, second off 38 and third off 33.

Mohammad Amir, whom many thought would be Pakistan’s trump card, failed to impress much finishing with 4-41. Irfan (4-46) was even worse.

Score Board

New Zealand won toss

New Zealand

M J Guptill b Sami     80

*K S Williamson c Shahid b Irfan     17

C Munro c Khalid b Shahid    7

C J Anderson c Shoaib b Shahid      21

L R P L Taylor not out          36

†L Ronchi c Shoaib b Sami   11

G D Elliott not out     1

Extras (lb 4, w 3)     7

Total (5 wickets; 20 overs)  180

Did not bat: M J Santner, A F Milne, M J McClenaghan, I S Sodhi

Fall: 1-62, 2-75, 3-127, 4-132, 5-164

Bowling: Amir 4-0-41-0 (1w); Irfan 4-0-46-1; Sami 4-0-23-2 (1w); Imad 4-0-26-0; Shahid 4-0-40-2 (1w)

Pakistan

Sharjeel Khan c Guptill b Milne        47

Ahmed Shehzad c Guptill b Santner 30

Khalid Latif c Elliott b Santner         3

Umar Akmal c Guptill b Milne 24

*Shahid Afridi c Anderson b Sodhi   19

Shoaib Malik not out  15

†Sarfraz Ahmed not out      11

Extras (lb 5, w 4)     9

Total (5 wickets; 20 overs)  158

Did not bat: Imad Wasim, M Amir, M Sami, M Irfan

Fall: 1-65, 2-79, 3-96, 4-123, 5-140

Bowling: Santner 4-0-29-2 (3w); Anderson 2-0-14-0 (1w); Milne 4-0-26-2; McClenaghan 4-0-43-0; Elliott 2-0-16-0; Sodhi 4-0-25-1

Result: New Zealand won by 22 runs

Man of the Match: M J Guptill (New Zealand)