Johannesburg: Grant Elliot smashed a brilliant unbeaten 75 as New Zealand upset another favourite of the tournament, Pakistan, beating them by 5 wickets in the semi-finals to secure a place in the final against Australia.

Chasing a total of 234 to win, New Zealand were in trouble at one stage with the score reading 126-4 in 30 overs as Aaron Redmond (31) and Ross Taylor (38) got starts but couldn’t convert them into big scores. But Grant Elliot (75 not out off 103 balls) played the best innings of his career and along with skipper Daniel Vettori (41 off 42 balls) added 104 runs for the fifth wicket to help New Zealand reach the victory target in 47.5 overs.

Earlier, winning the toss and electing to bat first, Pakistan got off to a steady start with openers Imran Nazir and Kamran Akmal adding 46 runs for the first wicket in 9.4 overs before Nazir (28) got a peach of a delivery from Shane Bond and Ross Taylor took a comfortable catch at first slip to send him back to the pavilion. Shoaib Malik (2) was the next to go caught brilliantly by Taylor at first slip off the bowling of Ian Butler.

Ian Butler struck again in the 15^th over as he dismissed the dangerous looking Kamran Akmal (24) caught by Redmond at sweeper cover. Pakistan’s downslide continued as skipper Younis Khan (15) was dismissed cheaply with Vettori doing the damage this time. His opposite number flighted it on the off-stump, Younis wanted to work it to the onside but all he managed was a leading edge and Ross Taylor pouched a dolly at short cover.

Mohammad Yousuf is not new to such crisis and he once again took it upon himself to haul Pakistan out of the hole in the company of Akmal. But the cautious approach meant that boundaries were not easy to come by. It was at this stage that Akmal decided to play the aggressor’s role, leaving grafting to his senior partner Yousuf. The young right-hander went after Vettori, hitting the Kiwi skipper for successive boundaries on two occasions to keep the scoreboard ticking.

Eventually Yousuf fell five-run shy of his half-century when Kyle Mills castled him and while Akmal did bring up his second fifty in ODI cricket, the youngster fell to Vettori two overs later, trigging another batting collapse. It was Mohammad Aamer (19) and Saeed Ajmal’s (14) gutsy partnership of 35 runs off 34 balls for the last wicket that took Pakistan to a fighting total of 233 for 9. For New Zealand, Ian Butler (4/44) and skipper Daniel Vettori (3/43) were the pick of the bowlers.

New Zealand’s chase got off to an eventful start with Brendon McCullum (17) sending the second ball of the innings to the stands before Aamer returned to settle score with him in the fifth over as a tumbling Shahid Afridi took the skier. Martin Guptill (11) looked promising for a while as he pulled a six of Naved-ul Hassan but his stay was cut short by Umar Gul’s first delivery. Redmond and Taylor then batted sensibly to provide stabilility to New Zealand’s chase but both fell just when their team needed them the most. Redmond (31) offered a simple catch to bowler Ajmal while Afridi (38) castled Taylor.

Elliot and Vettori then joined hands to steady the ship and they played sensibly to frustrate the Pakistanis. They added 104 for the fifth wicket before Vettori was dismissed in the 47^th over for 41 off 42 balls as he was deceived by an Ajmal delivery and Kamran Akmal completed the stumping. Elliot and Neil Broom (3) made sure that New Zealand got home safely as they completed the victory with more than 2 overs remaining and 5 wickets in hand.

Coming into this tournament, nobody gave the Kiwis any chance of making it to the semi-finals. But the Kiwis, known for their fighting spirit, proved once again that why they are considered one of the most dangerous teams in One-Day cricket. Now, after having reached the finals, they would surely fancy their chances against Australia whom they have troubled on more than one occasion in the past.

The final will be played on Monday at Centurion.

Brief Scores:

New Zealand 234 for 5 (Elliot 75*, Vettori 41, Ajmal 2-39) beat Pakistan 233 for 9 (Umar Akmal 55, Butler 4-44, Vettori 3-43) by five wickets

Man of the Match: Daniel Vettori

Tagged with: Aaron Redmond, Champions Trophy, Daniel Vettori, Grant Elliot, Ian Butler, Imran Nazir, Johannesburg, Kamran Akmal, Kyle Mills, Martin Guptill, Mohammad Aamer, Mohammad Yousuf, Neil Broom, New Zealand, Pakistan, Ross Taylor, Saeed Ajmal, Shane Bond, Umar Akmal, Younis Khan

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