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Kiwis crushed Sami, Saqlain rip through New Zealand's second innings
AUCKLAND (Reuters) -- Test debutant Mohammad Sami and Saqlain Mushtaq destroyed the New Zealand batting on the last morning of the first test to bring Pakistan an emphatic 299-run victory Monday. The match ended 34 minutes before the scheduled lunch break, with New Zealand bowled out for 131. It had begun the day 105 for one and had been hoping to play out the day to force the draw. But Sami and Saqlain enjoyed a dream bowling spell aided by some inept New Zealand batting. Man of the match Sami, who bowled reverse swing with pinpoint accuracy, had figures of seven overs for three maidens, five wickets for six runs for his spell Monday. His last two balls in his maiden test were of the highest quality and clean-bowled James Franklin and Daryl Tuffey. Spinner Saqlain played a huge part in bringing New Zealand's second innings to an end. He ran out opening batsman Matthew Bell last thing Sunday to end his opening stand with Mark Richardson at 91. In the first over Monday he had Richardson out caught by Imran Farhat and then took the wickets of Stephen Fleming, Nathan Astle and Chris Martin. He also pulled off a brilliant catch at mid-on to get rid of Craig McMillan, diving to his right and grabbing the ball with his finger tips. New Zealand was hoping to hang on for the minimum of 103 overs today, but lasted until just four balls into the 25th. Losing Richardson so early was a big blow, but nightwatchman Paul Wiseman and Mathew Sinclair seemed to have steadied the innings as they moved to 121 before New Zealand collapsed. It lost its final eight wickets for just 10 runs and when Saqlain bowled Martin in the last act of the game, New Zealand was left pondering its worst loss in a match where it had a total to chase. Its worst before today was the loss by 297 runs to Australia at Auckland in 1973-74. 'C team' Losing captain Stephen Fleming reacted angrily when it was suggested New Zealand had lost to a weak Pakistan side. "We're down to our C-team at the moment because of injury. Our bowling attack is new and you've got to remember they have a hell of a lot more to pick from. We are well down in our ranks, so it's not a fair comparison," he said. Fleming also criticized the use of a portable pitch for the first time at Eden Park. "It's a risky business testing it out in a test match," he said. "A portable pitch is the right step when you have a cross-over of winter and summer sports, but it shouldn't have been used in this match." Unsurprisingly, Pakistan captain Moin Khan had no problem with the pitch. "We knew the wicket surface wasn't too hard and so it would take spin in the last innings," he said. "We usually get green tracks here, but I'm happy to say the track was fine and suited us well." Three New Zealand players have already paid the price for the heavy defeat. Off-spinner Paul Wiseman, left-arm seamer James Franklin and 12th man Brooke Walker have been axed for the second test in Christchurch starting Thursday. All-rounder Jacob Oram, seamer Chris Drum and spinning all-rounder Grant Bradburn will replace them. Inzamam-ul-Haq will return to the Pakistan team, presumably at the expense of Misbah-ul-Haq or leg-spinner Mushtaq Ahmed.
Copyright 2003 Reuters Limited. All rights reserved.
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