Hong Kong, November 12: South Africa raced to a sensational 12-run victory over raging favourites Pakistan in a thrilling final of the 2006 Cathay Pacific/Standard Chartered Hong Kong International Cricket Sixes today.

A brilliant fielding display, capped by a stunning two-handed catch on the boundary by Albie Morkel, earned South Africa the win over a power-packed Pakistani line-up that had shattered a host of scoring records in their semi-final defeat of arch-rivals India.

South Africa, whose only previous Sixes success came in 1995, set Pakistan a target of 104 in the final but the expected fireworks from the four-time champions did not materialise.

The early removal for a duck of Yasir Arafat, who had fired five straight sixes in the semi-final, followed by back-to-back dismissals of Hasan Raza – to Morkel on the cover boundary – and captain Imran Nazir, run out after a great piece of fielding by Thamanqa Tsolekile, proved crucial.

"It was a great fielding display … a couple of really awesome catches (from Morkel). Those wickets we got helped us quite a lot. We got two of their main players out early which was a great help," said South African captain Nicky Boje, who collected the winner's cheque for US$100,000.

Boje, who contributed an innings of 32 (retired) and took one wicket for 10 to claim the Player of the Final accolade, added: "I do not think too many people expected us to come this far. It was a team effort. The boys enjoyed the weekend and really played out of their socks.

"The catch on the boundary from Albie was decisive. He was three yards in from the boundary – he jumped and got it. If they had got a good start then 103 would not have been enough."

Boje, a veteran of 43 Test matches, said that the team had taken the Sixes seriously but would be out on the town celebrating tonight.

"We actually came here to enjoy ourselves but the guys did not go out too much to see Hong Kong in the evening. But we are going to go out tonight, definitely.

"A couple of guys missed out on the trip but the guys who are here stood up and played well."

Nazir, who set the tone for the weekend with a towering six off the first ball yesterday, had the consolation of winning the JB International Sourcing Ltd Most Valuable Player award and the Ben Hollioake Trophy for the Player of the Tournament.

"My run out in the final was crucial and also Yasir Arafat was bowled first ball. We made a couple of big mistakes. We bowled quite well and scoring 103 should have been no problem, but we did not make it. Hard luck our guys," said a disappointed Nazir.

"Our guys played well against India. We were chasing the game against South Africa and that made a big difference.

"I was named Player of the Tournament which was nice. It was a great tournament and we enjoyed it."

Pakistan reached the final with a spectacular display of big hitting against shell-shocked India that demolished all previous records and ignited the sell-out crowd at the Kowloon Cricket Club.

They cracked 17 sixes in 32 balls en route to an all-time high score of 131, a feat that had the Pakistani fans in raptures.

All-rounder Arafat led the way, smashing five consecutive sixes off the hapless Sunil Joshi to different parts of the ground in his 31. Raza piled on the agony for the defending champions India with four sixes and two fours.

"Actually we were hoping to beat India very convincingly and we did it. I hit five sixes in one over – I was hoping to get six in a row," said Arafat, who has played six one-day internationals for Pakistan and also represented Scotland as their overseas player.

His batting heroics brought back memories of four years ago when he struck the winning runs against England in the final.

"Yeah, I quite like this ground. I hit four off the last ball, the winning runs, in the final against England (in 2002). This is my fourth time here at the Sixes and we won the championship in my first year."

Added Pakistan skipper Nazir: "It was an amazing batting performance from Yasir (five consecutive sixes) and Hasan. I have been at the Sixes five times but I have never seen someone hit five sixes in one over like Yasir. Amazing."

India's boundary blaster Robin Singh, last year's Player of the Final, who produced a masterly display with bat and ball on Saturday, was stunned by the manner of the massive 48-run defeat.

"It was quite an onslaught (by Pakistan). I have never really seen anything like that before. It is a small ground so you can expect these guys to play the way they did," said the 43-year-old veteran, who is the Hong Kong coach.

"Nothing much you can do against that. You have to hit sixes as well (which we did not). They bowled much better than us.

"We could have beaten these guys. They had three batters really, the first three guys, but they clicked. It is one of those games where rivalry is there, but it is very healthy."

South Africa reached the final showdown with a comfortable 35-run win over the West Indies. Morkel – one of the country's brightest prospects – top-scored with 32.

India went on to claim third place with a nail-biting three-wicket victory over the West Indies, in what was a repeat of last year's Cup final

England, back-to-back winners in 2003 and 2004, failed in their bid for a fifth crown when they lost to Pakistan by 15 runs in the second phase this morning.

With Test stars Dominic Cork and Darren Gough in their ranks, England were eyeing the title but a fine bowling display by Pakistan put paid to their ambitions.

England were further deflated by local heroes Hong Kong in the fifth place play-off. Hong Kong, who thrilled the crowd with a win over Sri Lanka on day one, hit their straps with bat and ball on their way to a decisive 47-run win.

"This is our best ever finish in the Sixes and it was great to beat a top side like England. We have never beaten them before," said veteran Rahul Sharma, who was making his 10th straight appearance in the world famous Sixes. "I am still enjoying myself but it is up to the selectors if I play the Sixes again."

DAY TWO RESULTS

SECOND STAGE

Bradman Group: Pakistan, India, England

India 83-3 (Reetinder Sohi 33 retired, Robin Singh 25; Darren Gough 1-7, Tim Bresnan 1-10) beat England 80-2 (Dominic Cork 31 retired, Darren Maddy 22; Sunil Joshi 1-13) by three runs

Pakistan 85-3 (Yasir Arafat 31 retired, Hasan Raza 25; Darren Maddy 1-9) beat England 70-1 (Mal Loye 31 retired, Darren Maddy 18; Yasir Arafat 1-8) by 15 runs

Pakistan 131-1 (Hasan Raza 32 retired, Yasir Arafat 31 retired, Imran Nazir 28, Tahir Mughal 26 not out) beat India 83-2 (Sanjay Bangar 30, Robin Singh 19 not out; Imran Nazir 1-4) by 48 runs

Standings: Pakistan 4 points; India 2 points; England 0 points.

Sobers Group: South Africa, West Indies, Hong Kong

West Indies 87-2 (Marlon Samuels 31 retired, Sylvester Joseph 29 not out; Mark Fuzes 2-10) beat Hong Kong 74-2 (Najeeb Amar 33 retired; Sylvester Joseph 1-11, Eausan Crandon 1-12) by 13 runs

South Africa 101-1 (Tyron Henderson 35 retired, Gulam Bodi 26, Albie Morkel 25 not out) beat Hong Kong 92-2 (Munir Dar 31 retired, Mark Fuzes 23 not out) by nine runs

South Africa 97-3 (Albie Morkel 32 retired, Gulam Bodi 21; Sylvester Joseph 1-15) beat West Indies 62 all out (Darren Sammy 23; Nicky Boje 2-12, Albie Morkel 2-15)

Standings: South Africa 4 points; West Indies 2 points; Hong Kong 0 points.

Cowdrey Group: Australia, New Zealand Kiwis, Sri Lanka

New Zealand Kiwis 90-3 (Glen Sulzberger 33 retired, Steve Brown 23 not out; Dilhara Lokuhettige 2-6, Saman Jayantha 1-8) beat Sri Lanka 74-4 (Saman Jayantha 23 not out; Danny Morrison 3-10) by 16 runs

Australia 94-4 (John Hastings 41 not out, Luke Ronchi 22; Saman Jayantha 1-16) beat Sri Lanka 80-4 (Saman Jayantha 36 retired, Dilhara Lokuhettige 30; John Hastings 2-4) by 14 runs

New Zealand Kiwis 74-3 (Richard Petrie 21; David Bandy 1-10) lost to Australia 78-2 (John Hastings 35 retired, Matthew Gale 27 not out; Richard Petrie 2-10) by four wickets

Standings: Australia 4 points; New Zealand Kiwis 2 points; Sri Lanka 0 points.

FIFTH/SIXTH PLACE PLAY-OFF

Hong Kong 92-3 (Mark Fuzes 33 retired, Munir Dar 32 not out; Darren Maddy 1-11, Dominic Cork 1-14) beat England 45 all out (Kabir Ali 19; Irfan Ahmed 2-7, Nadeem Ahmed 1-3, Najeeb Amar 1-7, Munir Dar 1-8) by 47 runs

THIRD/FOURTH PLACE PLAY-OFF

West Indies 100-4 (Sylvester Joseph 28, Darren Sammy 27; Sunil Joshi 1-8, Reetinder Sodhi 1-14) lost to India 106-3 (Reetinder Sodhi 25, Robin Singh 25, Sanjay Bangar 21, Sunil Joshi 19 not out) by three wickets

CUP FINAL

South Africa 103-2 (Nicky Boje 32 retired, Tyron Henderson 31 retired; Riaz Afridi 2-16) beat Pakistan 91-4 (Tahir Mughal 26 not out, Riaz Afridi 23 not out, Hasan Raza 20; Nicky Boje 1-10) by 12 runs

FINAL STANDINGS

1, South Africa (US$100,000); 2, Pakistan (US$45,000); 3, India (US$36,000); 4, West Indies (US$30,000); 5, Hong Kong (US$24,000); 6, England (US$18,000); 7, Australia (US$13,000); 8, New Zealand Kiwis (US$9,000); 9, Sri Lanka (US$5,000)

The 2006 Cathay Pacific/Standard Chartered Hong Kong International Cricket Sixes will take place at Kowloon Cricket Club, 10 Cox's Road, Kowloon on November 11-12. For further inquiries please visit www.hksixes.com or call 2504-8103.

Provided by the Hong Kong Cricket Association. For further information, please contact Charles Lau or Novan Tang at (852) 2504-8101.