A country for old men

Haris Sohail had bowled a total of 80 balls in all recognised forms of cricket before this game, but Mohammad Hafeez's bowling ban meant he had to double up as Pakistan's fifth bowler. He almost struck with his second ball. Anton Devcich ran down the track and looked to work him with the turn from outside off stump. The ball turned past his inside edge and found a faint deflection off his pad to elude Sarfraz Ahmed's gloves behind the stumps.

Younis Khan is 37, and his suitability for ODI cricket has come under a lot of scrutiny over recent months. None of that has anything to do with his fielding, though, and he gave Pakistan another reminder of his undimmed athleticism in the 25th over of New Zealand's innings. Ross Taylor dabbed the ball into the off side and called his partner Tom Latham through for a quick single. The batsmen hadn't contended with Younis, who sprinted in from short cover, swooped down on the ball, and flicked it underarm - a la Jonty Rhodes - into Sarfraz's gloves. The wicketkeeper had the bails off in an instant and it was bye bye Latham.

Luke Ronchi had only just pulled Mohammad Irfan for four. Looking to repeat the stroke two balls later, he went after one that bounced a touch extra, and got a top-edge that spiralled over midwicket. It was falling somewhere near the 30-yard circle and the man chasing back from short midwicket was Younis. Once again, Younis' agility defied the march of time, as he sprinted back and dived, with the ball dropping from behind him, to take the catch inches from the ground.

Vettori was already having a good day. His 25-ball 27 had played a big part in New Zealand taking 78 runs from their last 10 overs, and his guile had been on full display while he dismissed Ahmed Shehzad and Younis. Now, fielding at mid-on, where he might have expected some low-intensity work befitting a 35-year-old, he was called upon once more. Miscuing a slog off James Neesham, Misbah-ul-Haq spooned the ball in the air. Vettori had to turn around and run towards the boundary to intercept the ball, and even as he got closer he never quite seemed to have it covered. That's when he strained the last remaining sinew in his body and leaped in the air, left arm at full stretch. Having managed to pluck the ball out of the air, he also managed to hold onto it through the awkward tumble that followed, and rose with his trophy held aloft.