Zimbabwe crash out

a seven-wicket defeat, under the Duckworth Lewis method, at the hands of Pakistan – who rode on that victory to qualify for the Super Eight – in a rain-ravaged Group A match at the Pallekele International Stadium.
The Zimbabweans needed a win to retain an outside chance of squeezing their way into the quarter-finals, but they were on the back foot from the time star batsman Brendan Taylor edged the fourth ball from Pakistan seamer Abdur Razzak behind to be taken by wicketkeeper Kamran Akmal.
And when Zimbabwe lost two more quick wickets, in testing conditions on an overcast afternoon after skipper Elton Chigumbura had won the toss and surprisingly chosen to bat first, to slump to 13-3 and then 44-4, if the task at hand had initially been a molehill, it had now turned into a mountain.Craig Ervine top-scored for Zimbabwe with 52 but their score of 151-7, in 39.4 overs, looked lightweight and when Pakistan were asked to chase 162 to win, in a revised Duckworth Lewis target, they lost only three wickets before reaching their target with more than four overs to spare.
Asad Shafiq led the way in the run chase under lights, scoring an unbeaten 78, in which he hit seven fours and got almost half his team’s total, and fittingly ended the contest when he drove leg-spinner Craig Ervine’s first ball, from the 35th over, for four.
The right-handed batsman received fine support from Mohammad Hafeez who contributed 49 before he departed, one run short of a deserved half century, when he edged Utseya to Price, in the slip cordon, with Utseya’s animated celebrations illustrating just how much the Zimbabweans wanted to win this match.
It was Utseya’s sole wicket in his seven tight overs which went for 21 runs.
Price tried his best to find the inspiration for his team, which needed to bowl really well to win, and his eight overs cost just 21 runs while he was rewarded by two wickets. He gave the Zimbabweans hope when he lured Pakistan opener Ahmed Shehzad from his crease, during a period when they applied a bit of pressure, and left him stranded on no-man’s world with one that turned away from him, with Taibu effecting the stumping to reduce Pakistanto 17-1.
But Pakistan found a way to fight back and eventually they managed to cross the line.
Zimbabwe will now play Kenya in Kolkata, India, on Sunday battling only for their pride.
Batting first, in tricky conditions yesterday, the Zimbabwean top order was undone by man-of-the-match Umar Gul whose 3-36, from 7.4 overs, accounted for Regis Chakabva (duck) and Vusi Sibanda (five) while he also removed Prosper Utseya (18).
Twice the Zimbabwean innings was affected by rain, with the first interruption resulting in the match being reduced to a 43-over contest, and then the second interruption ensuring that they only batted 39.4 of those 43 overs.
Key batsman Taylor was the first to go, edging the fifth ball from Abdur Razzak behind to wicket-keeper Akmal, whose completion of a regulation catch was cheered wildly by the Pakistanfans still haunted by his shocking performance in the game against New Zealand.
Taylor, who scored 80 in his last match, had only contributed four runs by the time he perished.
With the Pakistan bowlers finding considerable aid in the elements on an overcast afternoon, the Zimbabwe batsmen were up against it and soon Chakabva followed, beaten by one from Gul that swung in and trapped him for a duck.Sibanda, playing his first World Cup match after being drafted into the team late as a replacement of the injured Sean Williams, struck one boundary before he nicked Gul’s delivery into the slip cordon where he was well caught by Misbah Ul-Haq for five.
At that point Zimbabwe were reeling at 13-3 and, with every departed batsmen and the discomfort shown by those still at the crease, it was very getting increasingly clear that skipper Chigumbura’s decision to bat, after winning the toss in the overcast conditions, had returned to haunt them.
Tatenda Taibu was still hanging in there and moved to 19 when he was caught by skipper Shahid Afrid, at mid-off, off Riaz Wahab to bring an end to a 30-run partnership, for the fourth wicket, which he had shared with Ervine.
Ervine was given a life, on 13, when he was dropped in the slips by ul-Haq and, working in tandem with Greg Lamb (16), they started to repair some of the damage inflicted by the Pakistan bowlers on the top order and they added 41 runs before Lamb spooned a return catch to Afridi which the skipper accepted.
Lamb had faced 28 balls for his 16, hitting one boundary, but given the testing conditions, his contribution was noteworthy.
At 84-5, Zimbabwe were still in the woods, and their case, in a must-win match to stay alive in the tournament, wasn’t being helped by the threat of rain with forecasts showing that thunderstorms would be hitting this city.
Ervine was joined by Chigumbura and they had taken the score to 96 when the rains opened, at exactly 4.35pm local time, after 27,2 overs had been bowled and, soon, a downpour was lashing the Pallekele International Stadium even before the players had found the cover of the change rooms. Ervine then, playing the anchor role that his coach Alan Butcher had demanded from one of his men on the eve of the game, was unbeaten on 48, having faced 74 balls and smashed five boundaries. There was a lengthy break and, when the rains stopped, it was revealed that the match had been reduced to a 43-over tie and play only resumed at 6.15 pm, local time, one hour 40 minutes after the initial break, and Ervine duly reached his half century from 77 balls in which he hit five fours. But he didn’t last long after that, adding just two more runs to the next five balls he faced after completing his half century, before he was bowled by Mohammad Hafeez.
Chigumbura now carried the weight of his team to post a decent score and he put on 48 runs with Prosper Utseya, whose dismissal for 18, brought another downpour and the players, for the second time, left the field.
Chigumbura was unbeaten on 32, his highest knock at this World Cup, and with three overs still left for Zimbabwe to bat and the score at 151-7.
When players came back to the field, there was no more further batting for the Zimbabweans and Pakistan were set a target of 162 to win, in 38 overs, using the Duckworth/Lewis method and Zimbabwe could not have started any better, with Shingi Masakadza getting underway with a maiden and getting good back-up from Ray Price whose first five deliveries, opening the attack, were dot balls.
Price then lured Ahmed Shehzad from his crease, as the Zimbabweans applied a bit of pressure, and left the Pakistan stranded on no-man’s world with one that turned away from him, and Taibu effected the stumping and Pakistan were 17-1. Pakistan rebuilt their innings and, after 20 overs, they had moved to 85-1 with Hafeez on 41 and Asad Shafiq on 31 and they put 82 for the second wicket, taking the score to 99-1, when Hafeez departed for 41, caught in the slips by Price, after edging Utseya whose animated celebrations lifted a crowd baying for the underdog.
Shafiq duly completed his half century, moments later, reaching his fifty in 76 balls in which he struck four fours.
Although Price dismissed Afridi for just three, Pakistanfound the experience to guide themselves home and send Zimbabwe out of the World Cup. Chigumbura defended his decision to bat first saying he believed the wicket was good for batting and said the rains affected their batting rhythm while also bemoaning his team’s tendency to lose top-order wickets cheaply.
Pakistan coach Waqar Younis praised his charges for their professional approach.
“We have done well and, despite the rain, we kept our cool and the boys fielded well and we batted sensibly,” said Younis.