Pakistan favourites to win semi-final clash against New Zealand: Yousuf

October 7th, 2009 KARACHI - Adding fuel to the match-fixing allegations, former Pakistan cricket captain Imran Khan has said that the Indian lobby along with the officiating umpires might have fixed Pakistan's semi-final tie against New Zealand in the ICC Champions Trophy. While rebutting the National Assembly's Sports Committee's allegations, Khan said the poor level of umpiring during the semi-final clash has raised doubts He said the Pakistani cricketers appeared 'overconfident' during the match, but added that the match-fixing allegations from the standing committee against the team were 'baseless'.

October 6th, 2009 KARACHI - Disappointed at not being able to reach the final of the ICC Champions Trophy, Pakistan captain Younis Khan has said his team ran out of luck in the semi-final encounter against New Zealand. Talking to media persons at the Jinnah International Airport shortly after arriving from South Africa, Khan blamed batsmen for the defeat.

October 4th, 2009 CENTURION - Defending Australia will look to make it two in a row when they take on underdogs New Zealand in the Champions Trophy final here Monday. New Zealand shocked everyone when they beat a strong Pakistan side by five wickets in Saturday's semi-final.

October 3rd, 2009 JOHANNESBURG - Pakistan captain Younis Khan won the toss and opted to bat against New Zealand in the second semi-final of the ICC Champions Trophy at the Wanderers here Saturday. Teams: New Zealand: Brendan McCullum (wicketkeeper), Aaron Redmond, Martin Guptill, Ross Taylor, Grant Elliott, Neil Broom, James Franklin, Daniel Vettori (captain), Kyle Mills, Ian Butler, Shane Bond Pakistan: Kamran Akmal (wicketkeeper), Imran Nazir, Younis Khan (captain), Shoaib Malik, Mohammad Yousuf, Shahid Afridi, Umar Akmal, Naved-ul-Hasan, Mohammad Aamer, Umar Gul, Saeed Ajmal

October 3rd, 2009 JOHANNESBURG - The following is the scoreboard of the semi-final between Pakistan and New Zealand in the Champions Trophy at the New Wanderers Stadium here Saturday. Pakistan: Imran Nazir c Taylor b Bond 28 Kamran Akmal c Redmond b Butler 24 Shoaib Malik c Taylor b Butler 2 Younis Khan c Taylor b Vettori 15 Mohammad Yousuf b Mills 45 Umar Akmal lbw Vettori 55 Shahid Afridi c McCullum b Butler 4 Rana Naved-ul-Hasan c Guptill b Vettori 8 Umar Gul c Broom b Butler 6 Mohammad Aamer not out 19 Saeed Ajmal not out 14 Extras (lb 6, w 5, nb 2) 13 Total (for nine wickets in 50 overs) 233 Fall of wickets: 1-46 (Imran, 9.4), 2-61 (Shoaib Malik, 12.5), 3-69 (Kamran, 14.2), 4-86 (Younis, 20.5), 5-166 (Yousuf, 38.6), 6-181 (Umar, 40.5), 7-183 (Afridi, 41.2), 8-192 (Gul, 43.3), 9-198 (Naved-ul-Hasan, 44.2 ov) Bowling: Kyle Mills 10-0-46-1 Shane Bond 10-1-54-1 Ian Butler 10-0-44-4 James Franklin 8-0-33-0 Daniel Vettori 10-2-43-3 Grant Elliott 2-0-7-0 New Zealand: Brendan McCullum c Afridi b Aamer 17 Aaron Redmond c & b Ajmal 31 Martin Guptill c Naved-ul-Hasan b Gul 11 Ross Taylor b Afridi 38 Grant Elliott not out 75 Daniel Vettori st Kamran b Ajmal 41 Neil Broom not out 3 Extras (b 2, lb 6, w 6, nb 4) 18 Total (for five wickets in 47.5 overs) 234 Fall of wickets: 1-22 (McCullum, 4.3 overs), 2-43 (Guptill, 9.1), 3-71 (Redmond, 16.4), 4-126 (Taylor, 29.5), 5-230 (Vettori, 46.6) Bowling: Mohammad Aamer 10-2-32-1 Naved-ul-Hasan 8-0-57-0 Umar Gul 8.5-0-48-1 Saeed Ajmal 8-0-39-2 Shahid Afridi 10-0-41-1 Shoaib Malik 3-0-9-0 (1w) Result: New Zealand won by five wickets Toss Pakistan, who chose to bat Umpires: Ian Gould (England) and Simon Taufel (Australia) TV umpire: Daryl Harper (Australia) Match referee: Javagal Srinath (India)

October 3rd, 2009 JOHANNESBURG - Pakistan made 233 for the loss of nine wickets in 50 overs against New Zealand in the second semi-final of the ICC Champions Trophy here Saturday. Umar Akmal was the top scorer with 55 while Mohammad Yousuf made 45.

October 3rd, 2009 JOHANNESBURG - New Zealand set-up a final clash with defending champions Australia after defeating Pakistan by five wickets in a thrilling semi-final at the New Wanderers Stadium here Saturday. New Zealand, who won the title in 2000 when it was known as the ICC Knock Tournament, achieved the target of 234 runs in 47.5 overs by losing just five wickets.

October 3rd, 2009 JOHANNESBURG - New Zealand defeated Pakistan by five wickets in the second semi-final of the ICC Champions Trophy at the Wanderers here Saturday. New Zealand will face Australia in Monday's final.

October 2nd, 2009 JOHANNESBURG - Pakistan will be the favourites on the bouncy Wanderers track when they take on New Zealand in the second semi-final of the Champions Trophy here Saturday. The strip at the Wanderers with its pace and bounce has favoured the bowlers and it will not be surprising if Friday's clash turns out to be another low scoring affair.

October 1st, 2009 JOHANNESBURG - The New Zealand cricket management was cautiously optimistic today about all rounder Grant Elliott playing in Sunday's Champions Trophy semi-final against Pakistan. Elliott played a pivotal role in the Black Caps' four-wicket win over England in Johannesburg yesterday (NZT), but picked up a hand injury along the way when he was hit on the right thumb while batting as New Zealand chased 147 on a pitch with uneven bounce.

September 30th, 2009 JOHANNESBURG - England off-spinner Graeme Swann is dreaming of facing Australia in the final of the Champions Trophy. Victories over Group B favourites South Africa and Sri Lanka made last night's loss to New Zealand academic.

September 29th, 2009 LAHORE - Impressed by their brilliant performances against India in the ICC Champions Trophy, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has announced cash award of 500,000 rupees each for Shoaib Malik and Mohammad Yousuf. Malik and Yousuf were involved in a record fourth wicket partnership of 206 runs which helped Pakistan post an imposing total of 303 for India to chase.

August 12th, 2009 KARACHI - Pakistan captain Younis Khan has defended Mohammad Yousuf in spite of his below-par showing in the recently-concluded one-day series against Sri Lanka, saying that the premier batsman will take his time to adjust to the demands of international cricket. Younis said Wednesday that Yousuf has returned after a gap of over a year, and that there is a big difference between playing the Indian Cricket League (ICL) and international cricket.

June 6th, 2009 LAHORE - Pakistan middle order batsman Mohammad Yousuf has said he is eagerly waiting to return to the national team. He however said, it was upto the selection committee to decide whether to include him in the team or not.

May 27th, 2009 LAHORE - Pakistan middle order batsman Mohammad Yousuf has claimed that the Indian Cricket League (ICL) has given him a No Objection Certificate (NOC) to play for the country. Yousuf said he had submitted the NOC to the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB).