2nd Semi-Final: Pakistan Vs. New Zealand - -Grant Elliot Stars As New Zealand Thorugh to the Finals After Defeating Pakistan With 5 Wickets

New Zealand 234 for 5 (Elliot 75*, Vettori 41, Ajmal 2-39) beat Pakistan 233 for 9 (Umar Akmal 55, Butler 4-44) by five wickets

Grant Elliott and Daniel Vettori guided an amazingly thin batting line-up to a modest target, which was made more difficult than it was by the variety in Pakistan's bowling attack. The New Zealand batsmen, who came out blazing at the start, made sure Pakistan never got back-to-back wickets, and the required run-rate never became too high for a well-timed Powerplay.

Pakistan will rue two turning points, around the 40-over mark in each innings. In the first half of the day, after Pakistan's top order had failed, the 19-year-old Umar Akmal pulled them back with a free-spirited and sensible half-century. But he became a part of a 5-for-32 collapse, thanks to a rare ordinary call from Simon Taufel, just when he would have looked to open up and take the batting Powerplay. During the chase, with the required run-rate slowly creeping past seven an over, and the batsmen struggling to stay abreast, Younis Khan dropped a dolly at cover from Elliott. He was 42 off 78 then, New Zealand required 69 from 64 balls, and only one four and two sixes had been hit in the preceding 21 overs.