Gul Star in Thriller Win

Umar Gul turned an unlikely hero with the bat as Pakistan survived a middle-order collapse to beat South Africa by two wickets in the Super Eights of the World Twenty20 on Friday.

Pakistan, chasing South Africa's modest 133-6, crashed to 76-7 in the 15th over before Gul and Umar Akmal combined to share a match-winning partnership of 49 in 27 balls.
Gul smashed two fours and three sixes in his 32 off 17 balls before he was dismissed off the last ball of the 19th over by fast bowler Dale Steyn with nine more needed.
But Akmal, who remained unbeaten on 43, and Saeed Ajmal steered Pakistan home with two balls to spare, Ajmal edging the winning boundary off Morne Morkel.
Pakistan's openers raced to 24 in 2.5 overs before the innings fell apart after Imran Nazir (14) was caught behind off Steyn.
Left-arm spinner Robin Peterson, who came to bowl the fourth over, removed skipper Mohammad Hafeez with his second delivery and Nasir Jamshed with the six to make Pakistan 31-3.
Off-spinner Johan Botha also struck in his first over by bowling Kamran Akmal for one, Jacques Kallis dismissed Shoaib Malik (12) and JP Duminy had danger man Shahid Afridi caught in the deep first ball.
But Gul and Umar Akmal launched a blistering attack on the Proteas to earn Pakistan full points in the opening match of group two.
India and Australia, the other two teams in the group, play in the second match of the double-header at the Premadasa stadium later on Friday night.
Earlier, Pakistan's spinners revelled on a slow wicket to restrict mighty South Africa to 133-6.
Hafeez claimed 2-23 and 20-year-old left-arm spinner Raza Hasan conceded just 12 runs in three overs after South Africa won the toss and elected to bat.
Seamers Yasir Arafat and Gul shared three wickets as the batsmen tried to hit out against them after failing to play the slow bowlers.
South Africa, the top-ranked side in the Twenty20 format, were reduced to 28-3 in 6.1 overs before recovering through skipper AB de Villiers and JP Duminy.
Left-handed Duminy top-scored with 48 off 38 balls, while de Villiers made 25, but no other batsman reached 20.

Brief scores
South Africa 133 for 6 (Duminy 48, Hafeez 2-23)
Pakistan 136 for 8 (Umar Akmal 43*, Gul 32)
Result Pakistan won by two wickets
Points Pakistan 2, South Africa 0
MOM Umar Gul (Pakistan.

ICC World T20, Super Eight: South Africa vs Pakistan

Colombo: They have so far maintained a clean slate and there is very little to separate the two teams as South Africa lock horns with Pakistan in what is expected to be a battle of attrition in their ICC World Twenty20 Super Eight match on Friday.
Both teams will be equally confident after their emphatic showings in the group stage of the tournament, and it will be interesting to see who emerges winner at the R Premadasa Stadium stadium.
Pakistan, winner of the 2009 edition, won both their group league matches with ease.
If skipper Mohammad Hafeez and Nasir Jamshed shone in their win over New Zealand, Imran Nazir led the way with an onslaught that left the Bangladesh bowlers shell-shocked in their last game.
Hafeez deserves mention as he led admirably with both bat and ball, his canny off-spinners often proving to be a perfect foil for Saeed Ajmal, who has become a sort of a headache for batsmen the world over.
Flashy wicketkeeper-batsman Kamran Akmal has also shown glimpses of his brilliance and looked in good nick against their South Asian rivals.
Pacers Umar Gul and Sohail Tanvir haven`t really fired, but Yasir Arafat made an impact with three Bangladeshi wickets, and Pakistan are unlikely to make any changes to the squad that played in the last game.
The match assumes more significance for Pakistan as a win against the Proteas will put them in the perfect frame of mind ahead of the big-ticket encounter with arch-rival India on Sunday.
South Africa have been their consistent self in the group stage, but the real tournament starts now, and more so for the Proteas.
The shocking 2011 World Cup quarterfinal defeat to New Zealand still fresh in mind, South Africa would once again would look to shed the tag of perennial chokers in ICC tournament, and a win tomorrow will be a positive step in that direction.
A look at their performance in the group stage will only add to South Africa`s confidence going into the competitive round.
Led by the explosive A B de Villiers, the team hammered neighbours Zimbabwe by 10 wickets to start the tournament in the best possible manner.
In the rain-reduced seven-over hit against hosts Sri Lanka, the Proteas were well served by the skipper, who helped them to a 32-run win in Hambantota.
There is no dearth of strokemakers in the SA line-up and right from the in-form Hashim Amla to the great Jacques Kallis, each one of them is capable of single-handedly turning a match on its head.
The presence of Dale Steyn, Morne Morkel and his brother Albie make for an effective pace battery.

Teams (from):

Pakistan: Mohammed Hafeez (c), Abdul Razzaq, Asad Shafiq, Imran Nazir, Kamram Akmal, Mohammed Sami, Nasir Jamshed, Raza Hasan, Saeed Ajmal, Shahid Afridi, Shoaib Malik, Sohail Tanvir, Umar Akmal, Umar Gul, Yasir Arafat.

South Africa: AB de Villiers (c), Hashim Amla, Farhaan Behardien, Johan Botha, JP Duminy, Francois du Plessis, Jacques Kallis, Richard Levi, Albie Morkel, Morne Morkel, Justin Ontong, Wayne Parnell, Robin Peterson, Dale Steyn, Lonwabo Tsotsobe.