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Denmark end Pakistan's dream run with 10-wicket trouncing
Pakistan, who remained unbeaten during the group stage, were brought back down to earth with their wings melted off as the Danes secured a semifinals qualification against India in Christchurch.
Pakistan, who remained unbeaten during the group stage, were brought back down to earth with their wings melted off as the Danes secured a semifinals qualification against India in Christchurch.
Pakistan's 10-wicket loss to Denmark was the World Cup's biggest defeat © Associated Press, December 21, 2003
REVIEW: PAKISTAN vs DENMARK, QF4
Pakistan met Denmark in the fourth quarter-final of the Cricket World Cup, and to everyone's surprise, Pakistan were the team to enter this contest as the favorites. Up until this point, Pakistan were the best-performing side in the tournament, having advanced out of Group D as the only unbeaten team to have played all four group matches. Their road to the quarter-final included massive wins over Morocco and South Africa, which propelled their status from underdogs to World Cup favorites. However, their dream run turned into an unforgettable nightmare when they met Denmark in the fourth quarter-final, as the Euro Cup champions brought a screeching halt to Pakistan's campaign with a 10-wicket trampling in the biggest defeat of the tournament.
After winning the toss, Aksel Johansson invited Pakistan to bat first with 8.0 overs shaved off each innings due to a heavy downpour before the start of the match. Johansson's decision proved fruitful immediately, as Martin Lundgren struck on the second delivery of the game to send Mohammad Rafi back on his way for a duck. Quite surprisingly however, after his first-over blow, Lundgren was removed from the attack and Aage Storgaard was given the ball to bowl the third over. Denmark very clearly had a strategy and it was paying off in spades, as Aage removed Ali Chughtai to validate Johansson's bowling change, reducing Pakistan to 5/2 in the process.
Saim Rizvi and Talha Hayat, the two-best batsmen of the team, attempted to rejuvenate Pakistan's innings with counter-attacking batting, and for a moment it appeared to work, but an ill-fated inside-edge resulted in Talha Hayat's departure, making it very evident that maybe, it just isn't Pakistan's day. Three deliveries after Hayat's dismissal, Rizvi holed out against Chris Fredriksson as Pakistan continued their slump. Wickets continued to fall almost unstoppably for Pakistan, despite a commendable show of resistance by Adam Youhana and Kabir Khan Durrani, as the unbeaten Pakistanis were bowled out for a measly 102 in no time.
With a straightforward task at hand, Danish openers Chris Mattsson and Niels Hjort excelled with flying colours to give Denmark their biggest win in ODI cricket, chasing the 103-run target without any losses to complete a 10-wicket trouncing of Pakistan in the biggest match of either nation's history. Pakistan, who remained unbeaten during the group stage, were brought back down to earth with their wings melted off as the Danes secured a semifinals qualification against India in Christchurch.