Nairobi, Oct. 11 :    Nairobi, Oct. 11:  PAKISTAN 252 (49.2 overs) NEW ZEALAND 255/6 (49 overs) MoM: Shayne O'Connor Yesterday, Wasim Akram was taking the initiative in organising a safari-outing for the team tomorrow. Now, it appears, there will be an outing of a different kind: A 'court-martial' with Pakistan Cricket Board chief Lt General Tauqir Zia in the chair. Strongly favoured to make Sunday's ICC KnockOut Kenya 2000 final, Pakistan suffered a four-wicket defeat at New Zealand's hands. As a semi-final at the Nairobi Gymkhana, it was terrific, but Pakistan must place much of the blame on their own laps. They failed to bat through the 50 overs (after winning the toss) and, then, despite early breakthroughs, Roger Twose (87 in 101 balls, 14x4) and Nathan Astle (49 in 81 deliveries, 5x4) were allowed to add a tournament-record 135 for the third-wicket. Later, with apparently conflicting views being aired on how to stop New Zealand, even the fielding turned tardy. Indeed, the venom went out of Pakistan's attack as the cooler-than-cucumber Craig McMillan (51 not out in 56 balls, 3x4, 1x5) and Chris Cairns' replacement Scott Styris (28 not out in 38 deliveries, 1x4, 1x6) made sure New Zealand didn't earn the label of chokers. For India, today's result should come as excellent news. With Pakistan knocked out, they will take to their semi-final Friday, against South Africa, in a better frame of mind. Had the result been otherwise, the Pakistan-factor would surely have played on the Indians' minds. It's unfair to thrust some of the blame on a newcomer, but the overthrow by substitute Faisal Iqbal, in the 42nd over, cost Pakistan heavily. It left captain Moin Khan so disgusted, that two balls later, he himself conceded four byes. In a pressure situation, the lapses were fatal. While every captain is entitled to adopt his own strategy, it's inexplicable that Moin didn't bring back Akram for a couple of overs during the mammoth Twose-Astle association. After an opening burst of six overs, Akram got one after that partnership ended and, then, three at the end. It was too late. Unusually, Akram bowled two wides in what turned out to be his and the semi-final's last over. 'We totalled 20-30 runs less and got outplayed... No, we weren't over-confident. Even yesterday, I said New Zealand are a formidable one-day team,' remarked a downcast Moin, at the post-match Media conference. Intriguingly, he added: 'The Media made us favourites, we didn't say anything...' Stephen Fleming, the New Zealand captain, maintained a 'disciplined effort' is what he had been looking for and, obviously, didn't get disappointed. He lauded McMillan and Styris for 'soaking the enormous pressure.' Sadly, Pakistan's defeat relegated Azhar Mehmood's inspired bowling to footnote-status. Ditto where Saeed Anwar's hundred is concerned. Mehmood not only effected the early breakthroughs, but terminated the highest partnership as well. Later, he sent back Adam Parore. The only other wicket-taker was Saqlain Mushtaq, who induced Twose to top-edge a sweep. Saqlain, however, was far from his best and nowadays isn't as aggressive an offie as he had come to be feared. While Saqlain didn't enhance his reputation, ODI-specialist Twose definitely did. Actually, Twose has now posted four half-centuries in succession - two in Zimbabwe and two (in as many games) here. Picking the gaps and the right deliveries, and rotating the strike... Fleming couldn't have asked for more. Except, perhaps, that Twose should have been rooted till the end. But, then, McMillan and Styris proved equal to the occasion. Pak's rescue act Earlier, a string of largely unforced errors landed Pakistan in real hot waters in the middle-overs after an encouraging start by Anwar and Imran Nazir. If Pakistan did get past 250, it was thanks entirely to the 59-run partnership for the seventh-wicket between Akram and Abdul Razzaq. While Akram got 34 off 35 balls (1x4), Razzaq collected 48 in 49 deliveries (5x4). Razzaq, specially, looked set for a bigger score till he holed out in the deep when the countdown to the innings' close had begun. It ended, with four balls remaining, when MoM Shayne O'Connor brought off a brilliant one-handed reflex return-catch to claim Saqlain. This premature close must obviously have prompted coach Javed Miandad to give a bit of pep talk - his style, of course. That's why, it seems, Moin and Co. were on the field a good 15 minutes before the second session began. Nazir's miscued pull off O'Connor is what began Pakistan's misery, even though the openers put on 59 in under 10 overs. Yousuf Youhana was next to go, driving, while a lazy Inzamam-ul Haq got himself stumped. Ijaz Ahmed then went to a great, low return catch by Chris Harris. Moin's suicidal run out, just a while later, made it worse. Instead of initiating a recovery, Pakistan cricket's crisis-man landed the team in a bigger crisis. At 143 for five (30th over), Pakistan's invincibility was already in shreds. All this while, Anwar kept moving towards century No.19, his second on-the-trot in the tournament. He was particularly strong square off the wicket and found gaps in other areas as well. Though he doesn't talk about it much, Anwar is intent on eventually getting past Sachin Tendulkar (25 hundreds). Anwar himself exited soon after completing his century. It would be termed a soft dismissal but, then, Anwar looked tired. His 104 came in 115 deliveries (16x4). It's his departure which brought Akram and Razzaq together and the full-tosses, at the start of the overs of death, helped Pakistan claw back somewhat. But wickets again fell in a heap, with O'Connor finishing with as many as five (for 46). Incidentally, while Geoff Allott (the last World Cup's joint highest wicket-taker) got some stick, there were moments when his swing left more than one batsman non-plussed. Clearly Allott, too, played a role.