Pak fails to build on Nazir’s goodwork

Sharjah, March 24: Despite a rollicking knock from opener Imran Nazir (71, 114 balls, 5x4, 4x6) and his worthwhile stand with Younis Khan,...

Sharjah, March 24: Despite a rollicking knock from opener Imran Nazir (71, 114 balls, 5×4, 4×6) and his worthwhile stand with Younis Khan, Pakistan failed to put up a challenging total against formidable opponents South Africa in the Coca-Cola Cup triangular tournament at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium, here on Friday. The favourite team of the desert made 196 for 8 off 50 overs.

Hansie Cronje’s idea of introducing Lance Klusener into the attack worked wonders as he clean bowled Nazir with a well disguised slower ball.

The dismissal of Nazir turned out to be disastrous as the later order batsmen in a bid to score quickly lost their wickets.

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From 129 for 2, Pakistan plunged to 196 for 8 within a space of 13.4 overs.

Klusener ended picking up five wickets and South Africa sitting pretty having restricted the opponents to a reasonable total.

SCOREBOARD

Pakistan Innings:
Imran Nazir b Klusener (114) 71
Shahid Afridi c McKenzie b Elworthy (17) 6
Younis Khan c Elworthy b Klusener (95) 48
Moin Khan lbw b Klusener (1) 0
Inzamam-ul-Haq c Boucher b Klusener (12) 7
Abdur Razzaq c Gibbs b Elworthy (25) 23
Yousuf Youhana b Klusener (19) 15
Waqar Younis c Boje b Ntini (19) 15
Shoaib Malik not out (3) 3
Arshad Khan not out (2) 1
Extras: (lb7, w6, nb1) 14
Total: (For 8 wkts. off 50 overs) 196
Fall of wkts: 1-14 (Afridi), 2-129 (Nazir), 3-129 (Moin), 4-142 (Younis Khan), 5-145 (Inzamam), 6-165 (Youhana), 7-182 (Waqar), 8-193 (Razzaq)

Bowling: Hayward 10-1-21-0, Kallis 3-1-3-0, Elworthy 10-1-43-2, Ntini 9-1-38-1, Cronje 4-0-24-0, Klusener 10-0-47-5, Boje 4-0-13-0