Pakistan, Australia nail big wins
Print Edition
WITH 10 days remaining in the month-long pool stage of the Cricket World Cup, 1992 champion Pakistan has found form in time for the second half of the tournament.
After incurring big losses to archrival India and the West Indies, Pakistan has recovered with victories over Zimbabwe and the United Arab Emirates to level its win-loss record at 2-2. The win yesterday came at Napier, New Zealand, where Pakistan scored 339-6 — the first time it has topped 300 runs at the tournament — before restricting the UAE to 210-8 for a 129-run victory.
Just how much improvement has been made will be tested in Pakistan’s two remaining ties, though, against South Africa on Saturday in Auckland, and against Ireland in Adelaide on March 15. Any chance Pakistan has of making the quarterfinals will rest on a win in at least one of those games, and it might have to win both depending on other results.
Opener Ahmed Shehzad top-scored before being run out seven runs short of Pakistan’s first cup century in eight years, while Shaiman Anwar led the UAE with 62.
“Everyone contributed, and we pushed hard,” man-of-the-match Shehzad said. “Very happy to see some momentum before our next big game against South Africa.”
In Perth, Australia rallied around David Warner’s career-best 178 and set World Cup records for highest total and winning margin in a 275-run victory over newcomer Afghanistan in a Pool B match.
In reply to Australia’s 417 for six, Afghanistan was dismissed for 142 in 37.3 overs, with Mitchell Johnson taking 4-22 at the WACA. It was the biggest World Cup win in terms of runs, surpassing India’s 257-run victory over Bermuda at Trinidad in 2007.
Warner and Steve Smith (95) shared a record second-wicket stand of 260 runs off just 209 balls for Australia.
Australia’s total beat India’s 413-5 against Bermuda in 2007 as the highest ever at a World Cup, and it was the seventh highest in a one-dayer.
Today, Scotland will have another chance to win its first ever cup match and escape last place in Pool A.
Its opponent Bangladesh, however, is vying for a quarterfinal place, and is in third place in the pool, equal on three points with Australia but with a slightly better run rate. With one win to its credit — a 105-run victory over Afghanistan — and shared points with Australia from a washed-out match in Brisbane, Bangladesh could take a major step toward the last eight with a win.
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