HONG KONG, Nov 3: A blistering knock from Naved Latif helped defending champions Pakistan beat England by three wickets Sunday in the final of the Hong Kong Cricket Sixes tournament.

Chasing 82 to win, Pakistan lost the key wickets of captain Moin Khan and Imran Nazir only to see Naved stepping into the breach to blast a match-winning 31, including a six and two fours off successive balls from Chris Silverwood, to secure the victory.

“Their batting was just fantastic. We thought we had a good score. We didn’t bowl all that badly but they batted brilliantly,” said England captain Matthew Maynard.

England chose to bat after winning the toss and were helped to a healthy total thanks to openers Maynard, who scored 20 before being run out, and Adam Hollioake who made 35 before having to retire according to tournament rules in the five overs a side match.

Pakistani openers Moin Khan and Imran Nazir failed to fire as the defending champions slumped to 29 for two by the start of the third over.

But Naved Latif and Shoaib Malik proved equal to the task as they set about scoring the remaining runs with ease.

“I was always confident about our batting. It was a good score but I knew we would win,” said a delighted Moin Khan.

England had booked their berth in the final by scoring an upset six-run victory over fancied South Africa.

The early loss of big-hitting batsman Lance Klusener was a huge blow as South Africa, chasing 66 to win, were restricted to 59 for three off their five overs.

Klusener was out caught in the deep from the second ball he faced and then England bowled tightly with Yorkshire’s Silverwood producing an excellent over where he conceded just one boundary to help put a clamp on the runs.

Paul Collingwood, who hit 31 and Adam Hollioake (16), were the leading run-getters in the semifinal.

Pakistan’s place in the final was earned with an 11-run victory over subcontinent rival India.

Batting first, Pakistan made 93 for three with Imran Nazir blasting 35 while Naved Latif scored 23.

Pakistan then restricted India to 82 with Hrishikesh Kanitkar top-scoring with an unbeaten 22.

The win sparked a pitch invasion and wild celebrations by Pakistani fans.

Meanwhile, Hong Kong defeated Sri Lanka by 29 runs to win the Plate final for teams that did not advance to the main Cup competition.

Batting first, Hong Kong posted 84 for four with captain Rahul Sharma scoring 54, the highest score of the tournament. Hong Kong then restricted Sri Lanka to 55.—APP/AP