da jogodeouro： Karachi, July 23: Pakistan, as expected, moved into the final of theUnder-17 Asia Cup Cricket Tournament after chalking up a crushing 10-wicket victory over the Emirates Cricket Board (ECB) at the NationalStadium here on Sunday
Khalid H. Khan24-Jul-2000Karachi, July 23: Pakistan, as expected, moved into the final of theUnder-17 Asia Cup Cricket Tournament after chalking up a crushing 10-wicket victory over the Emirates Cricket Board (ECB) at the NationalStadium here on Sunday.In fact, the second semi-final proved to be a mismatch as the hoststotally outclassed the relatively inexperienced ECB side.Had Pakistani bowlers not conceded as many as 36 extras, the matchcould have been over well before the scheduled lunch interval.However, openers Khalid Latif and skipper Salman Butt, who had carriedPakistan to 48 for no loss in nine overs prior to lunch, completed theformalities within 20 minutes after the break as the home side reached89 in 15 overs in reply to ECB’s 85 all out.Left-handed Salman Butt won the Habib Oils Mills Man-of-the-Matchaward for his unbeaten 55 off 49 deliveries. His knock was studdedwith 10 fours.Khalid Latif ended on 28 not out off 38 balls with four boundaries.Though, Pakistan won the match, their remaining batsmen were deprivedof invaluable practice out in the middle ahead of Tuesday’s finalagainst the impressive Sri Lankans.In the league matches, the Pakistani middle-order was found wanting onseveral occasions against some innocuous opposition.Salman Butt, no doubt acting on the advice of team’s manager andcoach, chose to field first after he had won the toss in the morning.What followed in the next 140 minutes can be described as carnage ofthe ECB team by the Pakistani youngsters.Pace duo of Altaf Hussain and left-armer Najaf Shah sliced through thetop-order batting to leave ECB tottering at 36 for five in the 10thover.Only Mohammad Abdullah Mazhar managed to reach double figures bymaking 15 off as many balls while captain Mohammad Usman hit two fours- the boundaries in the 29-over innings.The Pakistanis were generous in conceding 26 wides with leg-spinnerZaheer Maqsood, quite surprizingly, bowling nine of them. He was alsoguilty of overstepping three times.Off-spinner Munir Ansari, who remained wicketless, gave away only nineruns – five of them wides – in six overs.Pakistan’s catching on Sunday was quite brilliant with Salman Butttaking three catches, including a stunning one at slip when SunilSuresh went for a wild slash off Zaheer Maqsood.Altaf and Zaheer claimed three wickets apiece for 13 and 20 runsrespectively. The remaining wickets were evenly shared by Najaf Shahand the left-arm slow bowler Pir Zulfiqar Ali.