Taylor leads New Zealand to big victory over Pakistan
Published:Tuesday | March 8, 2011 | 3:46 PM
Ross Taylor celebrated his 27th birthday today with a spectacular victory as New Zealand thrashed Pakistan by 110 runs in their Group-A Cricket World Cup match at Pallekele in Sri Lanka.
Taylor, missed twice by Kamran Akmal early on, began slowly before launching seven late sixes on his way to 131 not out.
In an amazing assault, the Kiwis hit 92 from the last four overs to post 302 for 7 with Taylor smashing 62 off 16 balls and Jacob Oram scoring 25 off nine.
Pakistan lost four early wickets as they fell to 192 all out in 41.4 overs.
Abdul Razzaq 62, Umar Akmal 38 and Umar Gul 34 not out scored most runs for Pakistan.
Seamer Tim Southee was the most successful bowler for New Zealand with three for 25, while Kyle Mills, Nathan McCullum and Scott Styris claimed two wickets apiece.
The World Cup continues tomorrow with a Group-B match between India and the Netherlands in Delhi, India.