Pakistan v New Zealand
At Lahore, April 27 (day/night)
15-Apr-2003
At Lahore, April 27 (day/night). Pakistan won by 66 runs. Toss: Pakistan.
Shoaib Akhtar ostensibly broke the 100mph barrier when he clocked 161kph on a sponsor's
speed gun. But the TV gun was not working, and in any case the ICC described speed records
as "pretty unofficial". Previously, the fastest delivery on record was bowled by Australia's Jeff
Thomson, timed at 99.8mph in the nets in 1975-76. Shoaib still failed to add to his six wickets
at Karachi. Pakistan's victory owed more to Shoaib Malik, one of three home players introduced
for the final game. First, Malik ran up 115, his highest international score, with 12 fours in 142
balls; he added 93 with Yousuf Youhana, who dashed to 53 in 51 balls. Then, Malik scooped three
for 37, also a career-best, as New Zealand slumped to their seventh successive one-day defeat by
Pakistan. Two days earlier, Malik had been married in a ceremony conducted by telephone. His
bride was studying in Saudi Arabia, and he had met her during the ARY Gold Cup at Sharjah a
year earlier.
Man of the Match: Shoaib Malik.