The predominant features of Sialkot's innings were batsmen playing and
missing and an abundance of dot balls; their attempts at
counter-attacking were short lived. Their batsmen cleared the Wanderers'
boundaries ten times but managed to score only 130. It was the third-lowest total for an innings that contained ten sixes; the first two were chases in which the target was easily achieved.
The target was well below par and Auckland's openers, Martin Guptill and
Lou Vincent, handled the bounce better than their counterparts did. The
opening stand of 32 put the chase on course and the second-wicket stand
of 51 between Guptill and Azhar Mahmood gave them an opportunity to win
with a high net run-rate. They lost a couple of wickets in quick
succession but New Zealand's domestic champions managed to get home with
17 balls to spare.
Gareth Hopkins, the Auckland captain, got what he wanted despite losing
the toss, and Kyle Mills and Michael Bates made excellent use of the
conditions. On a green-tinged pitch, the right and left-arm combination
harried the Sialkot openers with short-of-a-length deliveries. After
Imran Nazir was smacked painfully on the glove, Shakeel Ansar attempted a
big hit in Bates' first over and holed out to mid-on. The No. 3 batsman
Haris Sohail took 12 deliveries to get off the mark, before Nazir ended
two consecutive maiden overs by pulling Bates over the fine-leg
boundary.
There were 24 dot balls in the first five overs, after which Sialkot
were 11 for 1. Mills' figures were 3-1-4-0. The sixth went for plenty.
Mahmood's length was poor and Sohail hit him for two sixes in an over
that cost Auckland 18. Both Sohail and Nazir, however, were caught at
point attempting aggressive shots in successive overs, leaving Sialkot
30 for 3.
Shahid Yousuf was Sialkot's best chance at recovery and he hit Andre
Adams, bowling extremely quick for a five-step run-up, for consecutive
sixes in the ninth over. In the next, Yousuf took two fours off Colin
Munro's only over. At the other end, however, Shoaib Malik was
struggling, scoring only 3 off his first 11 deliveries.
Yousuf was reprieved twice off Ronnie Hira - Hopkins failed to collect
and stump the batsmen - before the spinner took a catch off his own
bowling to stunt the Sialkot recovery. Malik's innings ended via a catch
at long-off and Sialkot slumped to 97 for 6 before the tail got stuck
into Hira's final over, the 18th. Naved-ul-Hasan and Ali Khan took 21
runs off it. Mills, however, returned to clamp down on Sialkot once
again. His last over went for only two runs and he finished with figures
of 4-1-6-2.
Faced with a middling target, Auckland began the chase aggressively.
Vincent charged, pulled and slashed to provide the early propulsion. He
was beaten often as well, but managed 20 off 16 balls before being
caught at third man on the cut. Guptill began at around run a ball and
steered Auckland through the first half of the chase. His only six came
in the tenth over, a 98 metre blow over long-on, and he was out in the
next, pulling powerfully to the fielder on the midwicket boundary.
Then followed Auckland's most tentative phase, as Mahmood and Colin de
Grandhomme were dismissed in the space of four balls by Sarfraz Ahmed, a
left-arm bowler who delivers off the right foot but well after his
front foot as landed. The asking-rate, however, was never an issue and
Anaru Kitchen and Colin Munro hacked at the equation with a series of
powerful blows to accelerate the finish
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