England cruise to victory

Bridegtown, Barbados: Kevin Pietersen's unbeaten 70 guided England to a comfortable seven-wicket victory over Pakistan in the opening second round Super Eights match of the World Twenty20 yesterday.

Chasing 148 for win, the English Lions roared to the target despite losing two quick wickets towards the end at the Kensington Oval here.

Pietersen hit the winning run with three balls to spare. His 52-ball innings included seven boundaries and two sixes and added 60 runs for the third wicket with skipper Paul Collingwood .

Earlier, the defending champions Pakistan, who were 71 for one, lost three wickets for six runs as they collapsed to 77 for four in the 11th over with captain and hard-hitting batsman Shahid Afridi run out first ball for nought.

They might have been in even worse trouble had not Umar Akmal been given a life on five when wicketkeeper Craig Kieswetter missed a chance to stump him off left-arm spinner Michael Yardy, who still took an economical two wickets for nine runs from his maximum four overs.

Umar Akmal went on to make 30, off 25 balls, before he was well caught on the boundary by Kevin Pietersen, running round from long-on, off left-arm quick Ryan Sidebottom.

England, who won the toss and elected to field, put the breaks on Pakistan's scoring rate until an expensive final over from seamer Tim Bresnan went for 15 runs, with tailender Saaed Ajmal striking a six over the wicketkeeper's head.

A second-wicket stand of 40 in five overs between opener Salman Butt, who top-scored with 34, and Mohammad Hafeez was ended when left-hander Butt drove off-spinner Graeme Swann hard but straight to England captain Paul Collingwood.

Hafeez followed soon afterwards for 18, taken by Stuart Broad at short third man off Yardy. And next ball Afridi was run out after he pushed the ball straight to cover, set off for a non-existent single and was sent back before giving up as Kieswetter broke the stumps from Luke Wright's throw.

Pakistan made an ideal start with Kamran Akmal hooking the first ball, from Sidebottom, for six over long leg. Butt was given a reprieve on 13 when he tried to guide Broad down to third man and was dropped by Kieswetter, who couldn't hold the difficult chance as he dived to his left.

Scoreboard

Pakistan

• Kamran Akmal c Kieswetter b Broad 15
• Salman Butt c Collingwood b Swann 34
• M. Hafeez c Broad b Yardy 18
• U.Akmal c Pietersen b Sidebottom 30
• Shahid Afridi run out 0
• Misbah-ul-Haq b Yardy 13
• Abdul Razzaq c Bresnan b Sidebottom 10
• Fawad Alam c Kieswetter b Broad 1
• Mohammad Aamer c Yardy b Bresnan 3
• Saeed Ajmal not out 13
• Mohammad Asif not out 0
• Extras (lb1, w2, nb7) 10
• Total (9 wkts, 20 overs) 147

Fall of wickets: 1-31 (K Akmal), 2-71 (Butt), 3-77 (Hafeez), 4-77 (Afridi), 5-102 (Misbah), 6-118 (U Akmal), 7-120 (Alam), 8-132 (Razzaq), 9-132 (Aamer)

Bowling: Sidebottom 3-0-28-2 (3w); Bresnan 4-0-36-1 (1nb, 4w); Broad 4-0-25-2 (1nb); Yardy 4-0-19-2; Swann 4-0-28-1; Collingwood 1-0-10-0

England

• M. Lumb st K Akmal b Ajmal 25
• C. Kieswetter c U Akmal b Razzaq 25
• K. Pietersen not out 73
• P. Collingwood c U Akmal b Afridi 16
• E. Morgan b Ajmal 5
• L. Wright not out 1
• Extras (lb3, w3) 6
• Total (4 wkts, 19.3 overs) 151

Did not bat: S Broad, T Bresnan, G Swann, M Yardy, R Sidebottom

Fall of wickets: 1-44 (Lumb), 2-65 (Kieswetter), 3-125 (Collingwood), 4-140 (Morgan)

Bowling: Razzaq 3-0-22-1; Asif 4-0-43-0; Aamer 4-0-25-0 (1w); Ajmal 3.3-0-18-2; Hafeez 1-0-12-0 (1w); Afridi 4-0-28-1

Result: England won by six wickets

Man-of-the-match: Kevin Pietersen.