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Pakistan brush UAE aside

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Pakistan boosted their chances of reaching the World Cup quarter-finals with victory over United Arab Emirates by 129 runs at McLean Park in Napier.

A second-wicket partnership of 160 between Ahmed Shehzad and Haris Sohail, and a quick-fire 65 from captain Misbah-ul-Haq, helped Pakistan amass 339 for six in their 50 overs.

Although UAE lost only eight wickets in their reply, their 210 left them well short of victory.

Pakistan rose to fourth in Pool B at the expense of Ireland, ahead of the two sides meeting in Adelaide on Sunday week.

Pakistan's total would have been challenging for an established nation, let alone an Associate, although they did not get off to the best of starts.

The match was only 3.3 overs old when Nasir Jamshed went looking to pull and succeeded only in skying Manjula Guruge's short delivery to mid-on to depart for four.

Ahmed Shehzad and Haris Sohail mark their hundred partnership before going to on to share 160 for Pakistan's second wicket

Sohail joined Shehzad at the crease and it was not long before the scoreboard began to tick over, with the Pakistan total passing 100 in the 23rd over.

Shehzad, dropped in the seventh and eighth overs, lifted Amjad Javed over the ropes for the first six of the match at the end of the 16th over and was raising his bat to celebrate fifty - his 11th in one-day internationals - in the 24th over.

Sohail joined his batting partner in raising a half-century in the next over off Mohammad Tauqir - which also pushed their partnership into three figures.

Sohail clubbed Krishna Chandran to the midwicket boundary as the stand passed 150 at the start of the 32nd over, but his time at the crease came to an end in the next over as he mis-hit Mohammad Naveed to mid-on to depart for 70 from 83 balls.

Shehzad was run out for 93, from 105 deliveries, shorty afterwards but, with Misbah joining Sohaib Maqsood in the middle, Pakistan were well set on 176 for three with 15.5 overs to play.

Misbah and Maqsood put on 75 runs in 8.5 overs, but their quick-fire alliance ended when Maqsood, having made 45 from 31 deliveries, clubbed to backward point where Rohan Mustafa juggled repeatedly before taking the catch.

Misbah continued to score freely after Maqsood's departure and brought up his 41st ODI fifty before he and Umar Akmal fell to Guruge in the penultimate set of six.

Pakistan skipper Misbah-ul-Haq boosts his side to a score well beyond United Arab Emirates with 65 from 49 balls

Shahid Afridi clubbed 21 runs from seven balls in the closing stages to pass 8,000 ODI runs and cap an impressive Pakistan innings.

Rahat Ali drew first blood for Pakistan in the seventh over of UAE's reply when Amjad Ali played on.

Andri Berenger soon edged Sohail Khan behind, and Krishna Chandran then offered a leading edge to give Khan his second wicket and leave UAE struggling on 25 for three after 10 overs.

But Khurram Khan and Shaiman Anwar posted 83 to steady the ship, before the former was caught at backward square-leg off Maqsood for 43.

Anwar progressed for a third ODI fifty, yet when he holed out to Afridi for 62 the game was close to being up.

Rohan Mustafa was caught at short fine-leg off Afridi for a second-ball duck, but a 68-run stand between Amjad Javed and Swapnil Patil at least added some credibility.

Javed took on one shot too many and was caught at long-on for 40 off Wahab Riaz, and Patil was cleaned up by the same bowler for 36, leaving the UAE out of time and hope.


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