Pakistan win Sharjah Cup

Zimbabwe won the toss and elected to bat on a dry, sun-baked wicket for today's day/night game, the final of the 2003 Sharjah Cup. Mohammad Sami, fresh from his demolition of Kenya in the round-robin gave Pakistan a great start when, with just his third ball he forced the edge from Craig Wishart (0) and Rashid Latif took the straightforward catch.

Gavin Rennie steered the final ball of the first over down to third man for a single to get the Zimbabwean innings under way. Umar Gul partnered Sami with the new ball and in his first over Doug Marillier opened his account in similar fashion. Rennie pulled a short ball from Umar Gul to the square leg boundary and Marillier peppered the same area of fence when he cut a short one from Sami as the batsmen sought to exert some early authority.

Sami struck again with the final delivery of the seventh over with the total on 19. Rennie (6) flashed loosely at an outswinger and Rashid Latif safely held on, collecting his 200th ODI victim in the process. Worse was to follow soon after when the in-form Marillier (14) came down too late on a ball of full length from the speedy Sami and lost his leg stump in the process to reduce Zimbabwe to 22-3.

Grant Flower and Tatenda Taibu set about trying to rebuild the innings, but both batsmen were finding things not to their liking being beaten on numerous occasions outside off stump. The impressive Sami gave way to Shoaib Malik and the young off-spinner struck immediately when Grant Flower (7) flicked the ball to square leg only to see Younis Khan clutch a good catch. Zimbabwe were in tatters at 36-4.

Tatenda Taibu pounced on an attempted bouncer by Umar Gul and deposited the ball in the stand at deep backward square leg to take the score to fifty and then Sean Ervine timed one through the covers off Shoaib Malik to register his first boundary. At the end of the 17th over when the drinks cart made an appearance, Zimbabwe had progressed to a still precarious 59-4. It was vital that at least one of these two played a long innings.

Abdur Razzaq replaced Umar Gul and produced two very tight overs, but any pressure temporarily exerted was released when the first two deliveries of his third over were duly despatched to the boundary by Ervine who was now threatening to cut loose. His assault continued in the following over when he swept a leg-side delivery from Shoaib Malik for another boundary, but two balls later in attempting an encore Ervine (25) only contrived to help the ball into the gloves of Rashid Latif who took a very fine catch wide down the leg side.

With half the side gone for just 82 and still inside the 23rd over, Dion Ebrahim could afford to be patient. Both batsmen contented themselves with ones and twos in order to keep the scoreboard ticking over until a rare bad delivery from Danish Kaneria was heaved away to midwicket by Taibu. A neat flick to fine leg by the same batsman brought up the hundred in the 29th over, then a lofted drive off Kaneria brought him another four but it still seemed difficult for anyone to really force the pace.

Ebrahim (13) was the next batsman to depart with the overall total on 122. Kaneria got the ball to grip sharply and Shoaib Malik took a simple catch in the gulley to end what was a promising partnership of 40. Mohammad Hafeez struck in the next over, removing Heath Streak, attempting a sweep, leg before for a duck. Hafeez struck again shortly afterwards, this time when Andy Blignaut (3) got a leading edge back to the bowler who took a spectacular diving catch.

Tatenda Taibu completed an invaluable half-century by driving Hafeez to extra cover for a couple before Raymond Price (1), who had managed to hang around for 16 balls was completely undone by another googly from Kaneria and was struck on the pads to leave Zimbabwe in dire straits on 133-9.

With ten overs still to go, it was essential that Douglas Hondo stayed with Taibu and the seamer profited courtesy of four overthrows to get off the mark. Hondo defended manfully and with three overs to go, Taibu started throwing caution to the wind. A pull off the bowling of Abdur Razzaq brought up the 150, a stroke he used to great effect when Mohammad Sami pitched short in the following over.

The innings was brought to a close in the final over when Hondo (10) attempted to slog Shoaib Malik but only succeeded in holig out to Yousuf Youhana in the deep. Zimbabwe had finished on 168 all out and owed much to Tatenda Taibu for a thoroughly attentive 74 not out.

The Pakistan reply got under way when Mohammad Hafeez neatly turned a ball from Heath Streak down to fine leg for a couple. Andy Blignaut overpitched to Taufeeq Umar and the ball fairly whistled through midwicket, but Hafeez (2) perished shortly after when he could only steer a ball from Streak straight to Craig Wishart at slip with the total on 10.

An uncharacteristically wayward third over from Streak allowed the batsmen to add nine runs to the total, courtesy of four wides, but he was back on target shortly afterwards when Faisal Iqbal (6) attempted to flick a ball of full length through the leg side, only for Gavin Rennie to pluck a sharp chance out of the air to reduce Pakistan to a problematic 28-2.

Taufeeq continued to take the fight to Zimbabwe, first glancing Blignaut and then clubbing a full-toss from Streak to keep the scoreboard ticking along at better than five runs an over, then Yousuf Youhana joined in with a fine extra cover drive off Blignaut to take the score beyond fifty. Youhana greeted the arrival of Sean Ervine into the attack by despatching his second delivery to the cover boundary with disdain, a feat repeated by Umar three balls later as the batsmen were by now very much on top.

Ervine continued to bear the brunt of the Pakistan strokeplay when Taufeeq picked his slower ball, waited and then smashed it high over cover point for another boundary to take the score on to 71-2 at the first drinks interval. Spin was introduced in the shape of the slow left arm of Raymond Price who immediately had Yousuf Youhana in a little trouble with a testing maiden.

Douglas Hondo was brought into the attack and his second ball was driven by Taufeeq for a single to bring up the first fifty partnership of the match, and when the final two balls of the over were flashed through extra cover for great boundaries by Yousuf Youhana, Pakistan had gone beyond half way to their target with still 33 overs to go.

Yousuf Youhana cracked Hondo to the backward point boundary, then a sweep by Taufeeq Umar off Doug Marillier took the score beyond 100 after just 22 overs. The hard-hitting Youhana then despatched Price clean out of the ground at midwicket, but when the field was set back to prevent the boundaries it opened up the infield for plenty of easy ones and twos.

At this stage, Zimbabwe were in desperate need of a wicket or two just to rein Pakistan in a little but with hardly anything threatening to beat the bat, only one result seemed likely. Taufeeq went to a well-constructed half-century with a single to mid-off, the hundred partnership coming in similar fashion a couple of overs later.

Another fine boundary by Taufeeq, coming down the wicket and lofting Price over mid-off brought about the re-introduction of Heath Streak but it was all to no avail. Yousuf Youhana went to his own fifty with a drive to mid-on from Blignaut and Taufeeq Umar, batting quite beautifully, progressed serenely on to register his highest ever score in one-day international cricket.

When Ebrahim was introduced into the attack for the 36th over, Yousuf Youhana pinched a single off the first ball and it was left fittingly to Man of the Match Taufeeq to hit the winning runs with a sweep to fine leg. The Pakistani youngsters had won this game at a canter, been victorious in four matches on the trot and in the process deservedly lifted the Sharjah Cup.

Zimbabwe 168 all out (Taibu 74*, Shoaib Malik 3-29, Mohammad Sami 3-44)

lost to

Pakistan 172-2 (Taufeeq Umar 81*, Yousuf Youhana 61*, Streak 2-35)

by 8 wickets





Posted by Eddie