Hammad powers Pakistan to final (From Asian Image)

Hammad powers Pakistan to final

4:23pm Monday 25th January 2010 in

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Hammad Azam hit an unbeaten 92 to power Pakistan to their fourth ICC U19 Cricket World Cup final.

He helped to defeat the West Indies by four wickets in the first semi-final in front of ESPN STAR Sports cameras at the Bert Sutcliffe Oval on Monday.

Number-six batsman Hammad, later adjudged man-of-the-match, hit 10 fours in a 93-ball innings as Pakistan achieved the 213-run target with four wickets and nine balls to spare.

Pakistan endured intense pressure during the early stages of its run-chase, with tall West Indies opening bowler Jason Holder claiming the wickets of Ahmad Shahzad in the first over and then danger-man Muhammad Babar Azam four overs later. Two more wickets fell before the 20th over as Pakistan found itself in hot waters at 49-4.

However, Hammad combined with Rameez Aziz (39) to consolidate the innings. The pair scoring steadily and dominating the slower bowlers as Pakistan grafted its way back into contention.

Soon after Hammad reached his half-century from 56 balls, Rameez was run-out after the pair added 90 runs for the fifth wicket.

Hammad then combined with wicketkeeper Muhammad Waqas to close-on the target. Waqas departed after a brisk 29 off 23 and after adding 64 runs for the sixth wicket with Hammad.

With just 10 runs required for victory, Sarmad Bhatti walked in and struck the winning boundary.

Sunday’s final against the winner of Wednesday’s semi-final between Sri Lanka and Australia, will be Pakistan’s fourth appearance.

They lost to Australia in the 1988 tournament in Australia and then won back-to-back titles in 2004 and 2006 when the events were staged in Bangladesh and Sri Lanka.

Earlier, Pakistan had bowled and fielded well to restrict the West Indies to 212-8 in 50 overs on what looked to be a good batting track. Pakistan seamers were testing from the outset with Bhatti snaring two early wickets.

Opener Kraigg Braithwaite again showed his class for the West Indies, scoring freely and with occasional aggression, to compile an excellent 85. His 116-ball innings included six fours.

Skipper Andre Creary contributed 41, and Shane Dowrich hit a sparkling 55 towards the end of the innings, including a towering six over long on to bring up his 50.

Pakistan captain Azeem Ghumman said, “It was a very tight game – our batsmen made it tight for us. But I’ll give credit to the bowlers who bowled very well. It was again great middle-order batting by the Pakistan batsmen.

“Hammad Azam – what can I say about him. He’s been outstanding throughout the tournament. He’s a great asset. He bowls 10 overs, he’s outstanding in the field and when he bats you can see that he always wins the match.”

Meanwhile in today’s Super League play-off matches, South Africa and India recorded comfortable wins to go through to the fifth and sixth places play-off.