Afridi sends Dutch spinning at Twenty20Shahid Afridi Sahibzada Mohammad Shahid Khan Afridi (Urdu: صاحبزادہ محمد شاہد خان آفریدی starred for Pakistan with the ball as the Test side ensured the end of the Netherlands's fairytale performance at the World Twenty20 at Lord's here on Tuesday. Leg-spinner Afridi took four wickets for just 11 runs in his four overs - the fourth best return in all Twenty20 internationals - as 2007 finalists Pakistan won by 82 runs to book their place in the second phase Super Eights. The Dutch, shock four-wicket winners over England at Lord's in Friday's tournament opener and with a better run-rate at the start, needed to make 151 to get through and so deny Pakistan the minium minium: see red lead. 25-run margin of victory they required. But Afridi, well supported by fellow spinner Saeed Ajmal (three for 20), sparked a collapse that saw the Dutch decline from 42 for one to 93 all out. Victory saw Pakistan, beaten by 48 runs by England at the Oval on Sunday, join the hosts in the second phase after they had made 175 for five with wicket-keeper Kamran Akmal Kamran Akmal (born 13 January, 1982 in Lahore) is a Pakistani cricketer who has played 22 Test matches and 44 ODIs for Pakistan. He is a quick-scoring batsman and tidy wicket-keeper, who nevertheless has only achieved four centuries and two fifties in 31 Test innings. , who later made four stumpings, top-score with 41. By contrast, no Dutch batsman made more than Alexei Kervezee's 21. "Afridi was outstanding and we struggled on this wicket," said Dutch skipper Jeroen Smits Jeroen Smits (born June 21, 1972 in The Hague) is a Dutch cricketer. He is a right-handed batsman who usually occupies the position of wicketkeeper. For many years, since his debut in cricket's ICC Trophy on February 20, 1994, Smits has been backup keeper to Reinout Scholte . "We talked about Afridi and that we had to play him straight, but we didn't do it. "However, it's still been a privilege to be here even if we didn't make it to the Super Eights." Pakistan captain Younus Khan was relieved that his team had avoided suffering the fate of Australia who lost both their matches and were eliminated. "We were much better today and the partnerships were important," said Younus. "Our spinners bowled very well." The Dutch chase started briskly with Darron Reekers Darron John Reekers (born 26 May 1973 in Christchurch, New Zealand) is a Dutch cricket player. He is a right-handed batsman and a right-arm medium pace bowler. He originally played cricket in his native New Zealand, playing for Canterbury between 1994 and 2002, with one striking fours off left-arm quicks Sohail Tanvir Sohail Tanvir (born December 12, 1984 in Rawalpindi) is a Pakistani cricketer. An allrounder, he is a left handed batsman and left arm fast-medium bowler. He made his Twenty20 debut in the 2007 World Cup, and took six wickets in six matches, with best bowling figures of 3 for 31 in and Mohammad Aamir. But Afridi struck with his first ball when he bowled former Sussex batsman Bas Zuiderent for 13. That left the Dutch 42 for two in the eighth over. It was the start of a collapse from which they never recovered. Tom de Grooth Tom Nico de Grooth (born 14 May 1979 in The Hague, Netherlands) is a Dutch cricketer. He is a right-handed batsman and a right-arm off spin bowler. He made his debut for the Dutch national team in a one day game against Denmark on 26 July 2003. , who made 49 against England, could not repeat his heroics this time and was bowled by Afridi, better known as a hard-hitting batsman, who took three wickets in the space of 10 balls.
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