Defeats Great Britain by 76 runs in semi final 2
The semi final saw Great Britain take on Pakistan for a place in the final of the Red Bull Campus Cricket World Finals. Both teams had qualified with final over wins in their last group games. With the sun setting and the lights start to take effect at the R. Premadasa Stadium, Great Britain won the toss and sent Pakistan in to bat.
Pakistan lost their first two wickets with the score on just 15. Both Hassan Javed and Ammar Hasan were caught behind off the bowling of Mike Barnard. With their final hopes on the line, opener Faraz Ali and Abdul Khan put on a 56-run stand for the third wicket. Ali hit four sixes and two fours on his way to 50 and Khan just tapped the singles to give his partner the bulk of the strike.
Simon Watkins who opened the bowling, came back in the 12th over for his second spell and took four wickets in three overs to reduce Pakistan to 102/6. This is when the two batsmen who led Pakistan to victory against India, Nabeel Khalid and Shahzaib Khan, put together a quick-fire 37-run partnership – inclusive of five towering sixes. Pakistan looked like they would cross the 170-mark, but Robert Woolley and Luke Blackaby cleaned out the tail. Pakistan were bowled out in the 20th over for just 154.
Great Britain’s chase got off to a horrific start when Harry Bush was sent back to the pavillion off the first ball of the innings by Meer Hamza. This left Luke Blackaby and Chris Wakefield with the task of getting Great Britain off the mark and making the maximum from the powerplay. But Nabeel Khalid and Hamza bowled with pace and accuracy, not allowing any easy runs. Khalid dismissed Blackaby in the sixth over, ending a partnership of 37, and Wakefield was run-out in the over after.
It was the opening Pakistan were looking for as the run-rate kept climbing, none of Great Britain’s batsmen were able to play boundaries and they were finally all out for 78 in the 15th over. Shahzaib Khan picked up 3/17 and Mirza Jamil finished with 3/8, enabling Pakistan to advance to face India in the final of the Red Bull Campus Cricket World Finals 2013. Faraz Ali, for his opening knock of 50 off 41 with four sixes and two fours, received the ‘Man of the Match’ award.
