Umar Gul bagged a sensational five-wicket haul as Pakistan defeated New Zealand by six wickets on Saturday to keep their semi-finals hopes alive in the World Twenty20.
In an incredible spell of fast bowling, he demolished the Kiwis for a paltry 99 in 18.3 overs after they chose to bat in the Super Eight match.
Introduced as late as the 13th over, Gul wreaked havoc in his three-over spell and emerged the first bowler to claim five wickets in T20 internationals.
Abdul Razzaq (2-17), playing the first match for his country after quitting the Indian Cricket League, celebrated his return by rocking the Kiwis top-order at the start.
Pakistan almost made a mess of an easy chase before scoring the required runs with 6.5 overs to spare at the Oval.
The victory strengthened Pakistan's chances of making the next stage as they next play minnows Ireland on Monday.
Shahzaib Hasan (35) and Kamran Akmal (19) began Pakistan's chase in right earnest, putting up 36 runs in 4.2 overs but the departure of the latter triggered a mini collapse.
New Zealand skipper Daniel Vettori (2-20) dismissed Abdul Razzaq and Shoaib Malik to jolt the Pakistani camp. However, skipper Younus Khan and Sahid Afridi saw the team through with a 39-run partnership.
The Kiwis had already lost four wickets when Gul came on to bowl. He first got rid of Scott Styris, who top-scored for New Zealand with 22, and just rolled over the rest of the batting line-up in a magical spell, accounting for Peter McGlashan (8), Nathan McCullum (7), James Franklin (7) and Kyle Mills (0) in a hurry.
Except three batsmen, no Black Caps player could get a double digit score.
Razzaq had struck with the fourth ball of his first over when he dismissed Brendon McCullum (12) and then trapped Martin Guptill (8) to leave New Zealand reeling at 37 for three.
McCullum had began fantastically, sending the first and last balls of the first over, bowled by Mohammed Aamer, to boundaries, but Razzaq cut short his knock.
Aamer had dealt the Kiwis a second blow by sending back Aaron Redmond, who mistimed a full toss and found Umar Gul at mid-on.
The Kiwis never recovered from the early blows and kept losing wickets at regular intervals, which took a heavy toll on their run rate.
Styris tried to break the shackles by hitting Saeed Ajmal for a long-on six as New Zealand huffed and puffed to 56 for four at the half-way mark.
For the Kiwis to reach a fighting total it was imperative for Styris and Jacob Oram to bat through the innings, but the charged up Pakistanis played the perfect foil.
But Oram (5) was dismissed by an unplayable delivery from Shahid Afridi, who also took a stunning catch to get rid of Styris (22).
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