Batsman’s late surge sets up 110-run win for New Zealand

Shahid Afridi’s men came into the match the first of the tournament to be held at Kandy’s recently built Pallekele International Stadium on the back of three straight wins to open their Group A campaign. And all appeared to again be going to plan as New Zealand were restricted to 210-6 with four overs of their innings remaining. Pakistan’s promising start to the World Cup was brought to a shuddering halt by New Zealand, who prevailed by 110 runs thanks to a brutal Ross Taylor century.

At that point Taylor, having been reprieved on nought and eight by wicketkeeper Kamran Akmal, had scored 76 off 111 balls – but he then went into overdrive as the Black Caps plundered an incredible 92 runs from the remaining 24 deliveries.

Veteran seamers Shoaib Akhtar (1-70) and Abdul Razzaq (0-49) came in for particularly harsh punishment, albeit neither helped their own cause by serving up a succession of full tosses for Taylor to dispatch over the leg-side.

Taylor, the most recent of whose three previous one-day tons came in October 2008, finished on a career-best 131 not out from 124 balls, including eight fours and seven sixes – a fine way to celebrate his 27th birthday.