Bates powers Auckland to a dominant win over Pakistan
Pakistan started their New Zealand tour in poor fashion, as they were hammered by Auckland in the opening match of the tour at Colin Maiden Park. The hosts were in the hunt from the start as they trounced the visitors by a significant margin of five wickets,
chasing down an average 92-run target in emphatic manner.
It was a great all-round performance from the home team, as they completely dominated the match bowling Pakistan out for just 91 runs in 17.4 overs. That gave the Auckland batsmen a chance of really imposing themselves on the opposition. Auckland achieved
the target in 13.4 overs to seal victory.
On a helpful wicket, Pakistan was put into bat first. The visitors had a disastrous start, as they stuttered and lost their top three batsmen in space of seven runs, in just 2.3 overs. In the first over, Pakistan lost in form opener Mohammad Hafeez, who
added four runs before falling to left-arm seamer Michael Bates on the fourth ball of the match.
Ahmed Shehzad followed two balls later, after scoring a two-ball duck. Bates was once again the culprit, as he bowled a brilliant away going delivery to pick up Shehzad's wicket. The next casualty was Pakistan captain, http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Shahid-Afridi-c2482. The left-arm quick bowler
brought about Afridi’s demise too. Afridi is known for throwing away his wicket with rash shots, which is exactly what he did on this occasion. He skied one in the air to gift Bates his third wicket.
Younis Khan and Umar Akmal led Pakistan’s recovery, as they mustered a 38-run partnership. At the start of their innings, the pair played watchfully as they had to avoid any further hiccups. As their innings progressed they tried to open up, but all was
in vain, because the opposition bowling did not allow the Pakistan duo to dominate them.
In the process, the Umar Akmal top scored for Pakistan with 25 runs. In his defying knock, the youngster struck two boundaries. Younis also played aggressively for his 18 runs, and his strike rate of 112 was the highest amongst his colleagues. Pakistan were
52 runs for six at one stage, before the lower-order came to the rescue. The late order resistance came from the blade of Abdul Razzaq and Umar Gul, as the duo racked up a resilient 31-run stand. Their effort wasn’t enough to put their team in a comfortable
position, as Pakistan lost their last four wickets for just eight runs.
Michael Bates was the pick of the bowlers for http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Auckland-c766, as he scythed through the Pakistani top order, registering brilliant figures of four for 11 in three incisive overs. Bates opening partner, Hira provided him valuable support, as his gritty medium pace
bowling earned him decent figures of two for 21 in his quota of four overs.
The 92-run target was a walk in the park for the home side. Unlike Pakistan, they started aggressively as they amassed 46 runs in the power-play overs, losing three wickets in the process. Martin Guptill was the star of the show with the bat, as his 28-run
innings helped his team to record an imposing win. Grandhomme also played aggressively, as he took only 12 balls to score his 20 runs.
For http://www.senore.com/Cricket/New-Zealand-c754 work hard for their runs. Shoaib Akhtar bowled with pace and fire in the opening burst, as he took two for 31 in his four overs. However his contribution wasn’t
enough to allow his team to make a comeback.
Saeed Ajmal however caused some problems with his off-spin bowling, racking up two for 21 in his spell, but his team did not have enough runs on the board to trouble the opposition.
Tags: