AAC VS PNC MATCH 14

Done and dusted in just a shade over 2 hours! That's how this penultimate league match went. The second semifinal is confirmed, with South Africa Champions taking on Australia Champions but the first one is still up for grabs. Pakistan Champions confirm their spot in the first semifinal, topping the table, but whom do they meet? If West Indies Champions beat India Champions, the Caribbeans go through. If India Champions win by a small margin, then it could be England Champions' spot. But if India beat West Indies by a huge margin, we could have a marquee Pakistan-India clash in the semi! That final league match, between India Champions and West Indies Champions, is slated to be played at this very same ground in Leicester, in a short span of time later, with the first ball scheduled to be bowled at 9 pm IST (1530 GMT). Do tune in early for that game as our buildup will begin early. ADIOS! TAKE CARE!

The victorious captain of Pakistan Champions, SHOAIB MALIK, starts by saying that winning is something which brings a smile on everyone's faces and hence, the whole team is smiling at the moment. Adds that taking this momentum into the knockouts is a good thing to have as a team. On having Saeed Ajmal back in the side, Malik says that Ajmal is someone who is a very jolly person. Details that even if he goes for runs, he smiles. Further says that the way he bowled, it felt as if a youngster was bowling! Also says that this was the kind of performance the team was expecting from him. On the wicket, Shoaib says that the seamers set the tone and Pakistan had a couple of good spinners in Ajmal and Imad. Adds that it was helping the seamers early on but if you have quality spinners in your side, you expect quality performances from them and they did not disappoint.

The skipper of Australia Champions, BRETT LEE, admits that this was not their best performance but it happens in T20 cricket. Adds that all he can say to his team is to delete this match from memory and see how the team goes on Thursday (in the semifinal). On being asked about the players' fitness, Lee affirms that there are no injuries in the camp, so hopes that everyone is fully fit for Thursday and comes back refreshed for their semifinal clash against South Africa Champions. On the batting debacle, Brett accepts that in the last two games, the Aussies have not fired with either bat or ball, but couple of games before that, they were doing really well. So he calculates the average and ends by saying that the team, as a whole, is going okay.

Pakistan Champions' SAEED AJMAL HAS BEEN ADJUDGED THE PLAYER OF THE MATCH for his breathtaking bowling performance of 3.5-0-16-6. On his display, Ajmal smiles and says that the credit should be given to the coach.of the team who pushed him to play this match. On his back, Saeed thanks his physio and also those injured players because of whom he got a chance to play! On his preparation for this match, SA says that he bowled for the first 2-3 days, but then got injured. After that, he says that there were so many injuries in the camp that they were down to just 12 players! So, he had to rush through for some last-minute practice and got through!

... THE PRESENTATION ...

Hard to understand Australia Champions' attitude coming into this match. It was not a big gainer for them, as they would have either finished second or third. But that is not an excuse for such a poor performance. They were not at their best against spin, but sadly, it felt like they just did not want to play in the first place. A match, of 40 overs, has lasted just 118 balls in total - that's not even an entire inning of T20 cricket! Please stay tuned for the presentation.

Earlier in the match, Saeed Ajmal was instrumental in dismantling the Australia Champions' batting lineup, claiming a six-fer as they were bowled out for just 74 runs in just 11.5 overs. Ajmal's devastating spell yielded 6/16 in 3.5 overs, with three wickets in his first over alone. The Australian batters struggled to cope with the Pakistan Champions' bowlers, with only two batters reaching double digits.

Nothing much to write about the Australian Champions' bowlers here. They had the lowest total of WCL so far to defend, and they failed to pick up any wickets. And it was the particular unfinished final over by John Hastings which was the most embarrassing, as it went for 20 runs with 12 wides and a no ball with still a ball left to be bowled! But they'll put this behind them, as they've already secured their spot in the semis. And now, they'll face the formidable South Africa Champions in the semis. A new challenge awaits, and they'll be looking to bounce back stronger!

A convincing win for the Pakistan Champions! They beat the Australian Champions by 10 wickets and claim the top spot! Chasing a modest 75, they did it with ease, not losing a single wicket in the process. Sharjeel Khan and Sohaib Maqsood saw them right through, with Sharjeel Khan unbeaten on 32 and Sohaib Maqsood contributing 28. They gradually picked up pace and chased the total inside 8 overs.

WIDE! And with the 12th wide of the over, with the over yet to be completed, the match ends! Full and well outside off, Sharjeel continues to leave balls outside off and that ends a very embarrassing over for John Hastings - 12 wides and 1 no ball - eventually going for 20 runs in 5 balls as PAKISTAN CHAMPIONS WIN BY 10 WICKETS AND 73 BALLS TO SPARE!

WIDE! Number 11 of the over and the SCORES ARE LEVELLED! Hastings switches to over the wicket but ends up bowling it miles outside off, left alone!

WIDE. Number 10! Way down the leg side, let through again.

WIDE. Number 9. Action replay of the previous delivery.

WIDE. My word. Number 8 in this over. Hastings comes around the wicket but bowls it way down the leg side. Left alone.

A short ball, outside off, pulled towards deep mid-wicket for a run.

Hurray, a dot ball! Another short and wide ball outside off, but a frustrated Maqsood throws his bat at it and mistimes it towards point. One felt that only the bowler and the fielding captain would have been frustrated.

WIDE. Number 7 in this over. Outside off, left alone.

Full and down the leg side, Sharjeel looks to flick but misses and is hit on the pads. The ball drops down to the leg side and the batters take a leg bye.