Pakistan ease into Super Eights

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Kamran Akmal of Pakistan (L) plays a shot that is caught out by Alexei Kervezee of Netherlands (not pictured) watched by Jeroen Smits of Netherlands (R) during their ICC World Twenty20 Cricket World Cup Group match at Lords in London Tuesday.

Pakistan 175 for 5 (Akmal 41, Younis 36) beat Netherlands 93 (Afridi 4-11) by 82 runs.
Shahid Afridi carried Pakistan into the Super Eights at the expense of a spirited but outclassed Dutch side at Lord's, as he ripped his top-spinning legbreaks through a succession of bamboozled defences to deliver his team a thumping 82-run victory with the superb figures of 4 for 11 from four overs. For the Netherlands, the end came with unseemly haste as they lost their last nine wickets for 52 in 10.2 overs, but they still left the tournament with their heads held high after last week's unforgettable floodlit triumph over England.
Today, however, the greater class and knowhow of the Pakistanis came to the fore. They produced a chastened display after their error-strewn effort against England at The Oval on Sunday, and though their batting was kept on a tight leash by some determined Dutch bowling, the prospect of defeat was never seriously entertained. Netherlands were set 176 for victory, but thanks to their superior net run-rate going into this game, they could still have gone through with a score of 151 or more. In the end, the calculations were academic.
Pakistan produced an innings of considerably greater intent than they managed in their crushing defeat against England on Sunday, but were nevertheless denied the monstrous total that they, and their tournament prospects, so craved, as they were thwarted by yet another mature and assured bowling display from a Netherlands attack that stuck to its strengths and minimized its errors.
In their 20 overs, Pakistan were restricted to 175 for 5, which means that Netherlands, on account of their superior run-rate, will need to make at least 151 in reply to continue their stunning run in the competition and join England in the Super Eights stage. Though Pakistan's captain, Younis Khan, played down the seriousness of this competition when he derided it as "fun", the second half of this contest promise to be very serious indeed. -Cricinfo