Pakistan vs. http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Green-c60723 break Kangaroos’ unbeaten run
Pakistan have secured the top position in Group A by beating Australia by 4 wickets in one of the most important pool matches of the ICC World Cup 2011 at Colombo.
This is Australia’s first defeat in a World Cup match after they remained unbeaten for 34 matches. The Men in Green are now most likely to take on either West Indies or http://www.senore.com/Cricket/England-c56013 in the first quarterfinal at Mirpur next Wednesday, depending on the outcome
of the match between http://www.senore.com/Cricket/West-Indies-c760 on Sunday.
Chasing a mediocre score under lights to dismantle the Aussies, Pakistan lost an early wicket in the shape of http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Shafiq-c89281 consolidated the innings for Pakistan. Shafiq played sensibly and justified his selection as
he was involved in a couple of crucial partnerships.
Pakistan were in trouble at one stage with 4 wickets down for only 98 runs on the board before Umar Akmal showed his class and played a match-winning cameo. He along with Abdul Razzaq saw Pakistan home with the seventh wicket partnership which yielded 36
important runs for the Men in Green.
Shafiq remained the top scorer for http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Younis-Khan-c98325
and http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Abdul-Razzaq-c41623 also played important innings for Pakistan which helped them beat Australia.
http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Brett-Lee-c48419 was the pick of the Australian bowlers by a distance as he grabbed four wickets for only 28 runs. Mitchell Johnson and Jason Krejza also claimed a victim each but failed to stop Pakistan’s progress.
http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Umar-Akmal-c94595 was named as the Man of the Match for his superb knock under pressure.
This victory is surely a huge morale booster for Pakistan ahead of the knockout stage of the tournament. After beating the defending champions, Afridi and company would be feeling that they can beat any team in the showpiece event.
On the other hand, this is a wakeup call for Ricky Ponting and his unit and they should try to rectify their errors before the quarterfinal, which is most probably going to be against India.
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