Taylor took 28 runs off Shoaib Akhtar's over and 30 runs from Abdur Razzaq, which was a new tournament record for most runs conceded in an over. Misfields, overthrows and 24 extras also contributed to Pakistan's misery
New Zealand batsman Ross Taylor in the 2011 World Cup. Pic/AFP
World Cup memory
Taylor's big b'day bash
Birthday boy Ross Taylor's unbeaten, match-winning innings of 131 off 124 balls against Pakistan in Pallekele during the 2011 World Cup makes for an interesting case study. While Taylor's first 108 balls fetched him just 69 runs on March 8, the veteran Kiwi batsman surprised everyone with the carnage on display towards the end where he accumulated 61 runs off the last six overs.
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Wicketkeeper Kamran Akmal's dropped catch of Taylor cost Pakistan as New Zealand posted a mammoth 302-7. Taylor took 28 runs off Shoaib Akhtar's over and 30 runs from Abdur Razzaq, which was a new tournament record for most runs conceded in an over. Misfields, overthrows and 24 extras also contributed to Pakistan's misery.
Pakistan struggled to get going with the bat too after Tim Southee (3-25) dismissed opener Mohd Hafeez (5) and Akmal (8) cheaply. At 66-6, Pakistan were staring at a massive defeat. Razzaq's 62 and Umar Gul's 34 not out could not save Pakistan from embarrassment. They eventually folded up for 192.
Did you know?
MS Dhoni holds the record for winning the most number of consecutive World Cup matches as captain — 11 across the 2011 and 2015 editions. West Indies' Clive Lloyd was another successful captain with nine World Cup victories in matches spread across the 1975 and 1979 tournaments.
Figured out
Although Sri Lanka lifted the World Cup in 1996, the Indian players topped the batting and bowling charts of the edition. Sachin Tendulkar top-scored with 523 runs, and Anil Kumble claimed the most number of wickets — 15.
Player to watch
Gulbadin Naib
In a surprise move, Afghanistan Cricket Board decided to change their captain for the World Cup and replaced Asghar Afghan with Gulbadin Naib. This will not only be his debut captaincy experience in a World Cup, it will also be his first assignment as captain for an international match. Naib, who made his international debut in 2011, has played 52 ODIs and 38 T20Is. With 807 runs and 40 wickets in his ODI career, Naib's biggest challenge would be to get his teammates to rally around him.
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