ATG World Championship Final - New Zealand v Pakistan

 

The final table for the World Test Championship was as below:

New Zealand would face leaders Pakistan in the Final of the WTC at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in front of 100,000 spectators.

Pakistan beat New Zealand by 4 wickets with just 2 overs left on the 6th and final day of the World Test Championship final. This MCG showpiece was dogged by rain for all but the 1st day, but this did not prevent both teams serving up a tremendous contest. Fleming won the toss and opted to bat first on a good batting wicket. 

Early in the match a Fazal delivery broke Glenn Turner's hand, leaving the opener sidelined for the rest of the Test. Typically the Kiwis responded with pluck, reaching a total of 341 by day 2 (Hadlee 70, Williamson 57). 

Pakistani openers, Younis Khan and Saeed Anwar, replied strongly with a stand of 196 before 4 wickets tumbled for 46. 

New Zealand battled hard to restrict Pakistan's 1st innings lead to 7 (Hadlee 4-72, Cairns 4-80). Bert Sutcliffe then displayed his familiar tenacity, shrugging aside a blow below his heart to make 116 in New Zealand's 2nd innings. The Kiwis declared at 4.34pm on day 5 with a score of 288-6, leaving Pakistan just under 4 sessions to chase 282 to win. 

It seemed a formidable task for Imran's team, given an increasingly wearing pitch. New Zealand were unlucky when Southee pulled up lame on the 6th morning but Sutcliffe once again caused problems with the ball. Crucially Pakistan got another good start from their openers and their batsmen were always up with the pace. In the end they won comfortably and underlined their status as a champion team led by a great captain & all rounder.

Teams:

Pakistan: Younis Khan, Saeed Anwar, Hanif Mohammad (wk), Zaheer Abbas, Inzamam Ul-Haq, Javed Miandad, Imran Khan (c), Wasim Akram, Saqlain Mushtaq, Waqar Younis, Fazal Mahmood

New Zealand: B Sutcliffe, GM Turner, KS Williamson, MD Crowe, SP Fleming (c), BB McCullum (wk), CL Cairns, RJ Hadlee, DL Vettori, TG Southee, SE Bond

New Zealand 1st Innings 341-9 (127.2 Ov)

RJ Hadlee 70, KS Williamson 57, MD Crowe 45, Fazal Mahmood 3-54, Wasim Akram 2-54, Waqar Younis 2-97

Pakistan 1st Innings 348-10 (110 Ov)

Saeed Anwar 108, Younis Khan 97, Wasim Akram 32, RJ Hadlee 4-72, CL Cairns 4-80,

New Zealand 2nd Innings 288-6 (117 Ov)

B Sutcliffe 116, BB McCullum 46, CL Cairns 40*, Imran Khan 3-57, Fazal Mahmood 2-68

Pakistan 2nd Innings 284-6 (89 Ov)

Saeed Anwar 66, Younis Khan 61, Zaheer Abbas 49, B Sutcliffe 3-49, RJ Hadlee 2-77,

Pakistan won by 4 wickets

Man of the Match:  Saeed Anwar

Man of the match was a difficult decision with many candidates worthy of the accolade, but it went to Saeed Anwar who scored 174 runs in the game, and helped his side to victory in the World Test Championship Final.

This brings an end to the World Test Championship.  Only one game remains and that is a brilliant spectacle at Lords, a 5 day Test Match between the Champions Pakistan and a Rest of the World XI made up of the finest players and best performers in this competition.  The Squad for the game is shown below:

Rest of the World XI:

B Sutcliffe, BA Richards, WR Hammond, SPD Smith, SP Fleming (c), AC Gilchrist (wk), CL Cairns, SK Warne, RR Lindwall, SE Bond, SL Malinga, ST Jayasuriya, MS Dhoni (wk), L Hutton