Mahmood Downs Hampshire To Send Auckland Through

Mahmood Downs Hampshire To Send Auckland Through

Azhar Mahmood was excellent with bat and ball as the Auckland Aces won a one-sided match against Hampshire

©REUTERS / Action Images

Auckland Aces 123-2 (Azhar Mahmood 55no) beat
Hampshire 121-8 (Carberry 65) by 8 wickets
Champions League T20, Centurion Park
Scorecard

A virtuoso all-round performance from Azhar Mahmood qualified Auckland Aces for the group stages of the Champions League Twenty20 at Hampshire's expense.

Mahmood, a familiar foe from his time with Kent and Surrey, first took five for 24 and then struck an unbeaten 55 in 31 balls in a dominant eight-wicket win.

Having already beaten Sialkot Stallions on the opening day, Auckland booked their place in the main tournament despite Hampshire and Sialkot both yet to meet in their final game.

Auckland won the toss and chose to bowl first, making good use of bowler-friendly conditions as a string of batsmen tried to force the issue but instead provided Auckland with catching practice.

Standing alone at the top of the order was Michael Carberry, who used all of his experience in making 65 in as many balls and giving his bowlers something to work with.

Mahmood's first spell earned him the wickets of James Vince (11), Jimmy Adams (0) and Shahid Afridi (0) and he returned later on to dismiss Liam Dawson (11) and Dimitri Mascarenhas (0).

He might have had a sixth, missing a catch of his own bowling but it mattered not and he nevertheless claimed a new CLT20 bowling analysis record as Hampshire closed on 121 for eight.

Auckland's batsmen then got them off to a flyer, making Hampshire's target look inadequate. Martin Guptill led the charge with 38 in 31 balls and Lou Vincent - who had earlier held on to a fine catch to dismiss Carberry on the boundary - made 19.

After Guptill was caught off the bowling of Afridi and Vincent was caught by Adams off Chris Wood, Mahmood came to the crease and ended Hampshire's resistance with a flurry of boundaries, hitting five fours and five sixes in all.

Such was his and Auckland's dominance that they knocked off the runs in just 14.3 overs.

© Cricket World 2012