New Zealand v Pakistan
15-Apr-2004
At Dambulla, May 20, 2003. Pakistan won by 22 runs. Pakistan 5 pts, New Zealand 1 pt. Toss: New Zealand. One-day international debut: Yasir Hameed.
Shoaib Akhtar was banned for two matches and fined 75% of his match fee after the referee,
Gundappa Viswanath, found him guilty of ball-tampering. Television showed Shoaib, who was
warned for the same offence by Clive Lloyd in Zimbabwe before Christmas, apparently scratching
the ball in his sixth and seventh overs. It certainly worked: he demolished the New Zealand tail
after the middle order had looked capable of seeing them to victory. Pakistan's total owed most
to Shoaib Malik, whose 72-ball innings was the best of the tournament so far. The leg-spinner,
Danish Kaneria, bowled beautifully in the New Zealand reply to shackle the middle order, and
his dismissals of Cairns, beaten by a googly, and Styris, brilliantly caught at long-off, were key
wickets. Pakistan's win meant Sri Lanka missed out on the final.
Man of the Match: Shoaib Malik.