Kiwis eject Pak to meet Kangaroos in final

The Pakistani flare that took them through to the semifinal was visible only in patches as they took on a much more focused New Zealand side in the second semifinal of the Champions Trophy.

God granted Younis Khan his wish to bat first, as he won the toss. Pakistan’s persistence with Imran Nazir and dillydally with openers continued, To his credit, Nazir (28) looked more in control of his instinct in a sedate but solid partnership of 46. His good work was undone by a scorcher from Bond. The awkward lift from a good length forced Nazir to fend off and glove a dolly to Ross Taylor.

The hope of a dream start became grimmer when the in-form Shoaib Malik edged another one to Taylor to mark the beginning of Butler’s best ODI bowling figures (10-0-44-4). Akmal and Younis failed to steady the Pakistani ship, as Akmal became Butler’s second victim and Pakistan was found disintegrating at 69/3. Younis Khan too failed to play a captain’s knock. He too was caught by Taylor – his third catch – off Vettori.

At 86/4, the promising Umar Akmal strode into the Bull Ring to partner experienced Yousuf.  While he looked unperturbed by the situation and NZ bowlers, Yousuf surprisingly found it tough to rotate the strike and in the process used up precious deliveries, failing to relieve the pressure. The partnership meanwhile grew up to 80 and the score to 166/4 in the 39th over. Looking to pick up the scoring rate, Yousuf  (45) couldn’t guard his stumps and was bowled by Mills.

Separating the last recognized pair of batters worked to NZ’s advantage as the Pakistanis decelerated and fall of wickets continued. Umar Akmal left for a classy 55, LBW to Vettori; and his departure triggered a collapse of the lower order. After making a dent in the Pakistani top order, Butler returned to the bowling crease and dented the lower order as well, removing Afridi and Gul to leave Pakistan at 198/9 with more than five overs left. The situation invited the youthful exuberance of Mohammad Aamer and Saeed Ajmal to the fore and the duo unexpectedly added face-saving 35 runs to finish at 233/9.

While 233 was never intimidating, Pakistani bowling was. This was proved when Aamer removed the dangerous McCullum to give his team an early breakthrough. Guptill couldn’t repeat his performance against Sri Lanka and walked back making just 11 runs. Ryder’s absence was palpable in the vulnerable Kiwi top order. Redmond – who replaced Ryder – looked good for a while but could garner only 31 runs and was take care of by Gul.

At this stage, the Kiwi inning was in need of a partnership and to the teams delight, it did come in the form of Taylor and Elliott who took the score from 71 to 126 in the 30th over. NZ would have dearly wanted both to carry on but it wasn’t to be as Taylor was bowled by Afridi. Pakistan spinners – more than the pacers – were a threat to New Zealand. After Taylor’s dismissal, Vettori courageously promoted himself instead of Broom to tackle spin.  

Seeing his captain leading from the front, Elliot too buckled down but only after he was given a life by Younis Khan while he drove one to the covers. The ball almost lobbed up asking to be caught. Younis – who chose to catch in an upper-cup position – ended up dropping it. I don’t know what’s it with the subcontinent players that they keep imitating their Western counterparts and not sticking to their grass-root basics. As it happened, it turned out to be the decisive moment in the match.

Vettori walked up to Elliott following this dropped catch, after which Elliott put his head down and raised his price tag. As both got their eye in and the runs needed came below 60, they decided to take the batting power play from the 42nd over. The powerplay turned out to be the key to victory for the Kiwis and opened the floodgates for Pakistan. Both the batsmen opened up and displayed their full repertoire. Looking to finish it up, Vettori (41) fell just 4 short of victory. Elliott (75 not out) and Broom completed the formalities and New Zealand reached home with 13 balls to spare.

That’s where we stand now, just one match away from deciding the winner of Champions Trophy 2009. The final will showcase the healthy rivalry – unlike India and Pakistan –between Australia and New Zealand. Nobody, including me, gave Kiwis a chance but as I found out, New Zealand’s record in ICC events advises never to write them off.

Winner of Champions Trophy 2009

This is a tough one to answer! To start with, we need to first shrink down the eight participating teams to the four that we fancy as the semifinalists. If someone asks me, I would vote for South Africa, Sri Lanka, Australia and Pakistan to make the cut and fight for a place in the final.

From that stage onwards, it would be anybody’s game. On present form and the conditions in South Africa, I think I can further curtail the list from four to three, eliminating Sri Lanka. That leaves South Africa, Australia or Pakistan as the possible champion. It’s difficult to trim down further. Reasons: South Africa has the home advantage and hardly any weakness, Australia is fresh from slitting English throats and Pakistan can be merciless on its day.

I know there are die-hard Indian fans who would feel disappointed that why India doesn’t feature in that list. I would say that’s due to the inconsistent pace attack they have, which seems quite blunt at the moment in the absence of Zaheer Khan. If somehow India’s pace battery can deliver, we might see India snatching a place from either Australia or Pakistan.

This means I have somehow eliminated the claim of New Zealand, England and West Indies for the trophy. I don’t hope to face much opposition on overlooking the above three. 

That limits our options to these five: South Africa, Australia, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and India. Who would you vote for?