World Cup: Pakistan maul West Indies by 10 wickets, enter semis

The business end of the World Cup began with a businessman-like display from the Pakistani spinners, all of whom were ruthlessly efficient, typically clinical and stubbornly stingy, in a terribly one-sided quarterfinal affair against a sorry-looking West Indian outfit at the Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium (SBNCS) on Wednesday.

Captain Shahid Afridi (4/30), Mohammad Hafeez (2/16) and Saeed Ajmal (2/18) stuck to the basics — the West Indians didn’t — to ensure their batsmen wouldn’t have more than 113 to chase on a slow and low pitch that was far from devilish.

Openers Mohammad Hafeez 61 not out (64 balls, 10x4) and Kamran Akmal (47 not out, 61 balls, 7x4) knocked off those runs with ridiculous ease to complete a thumping 10-wicket victory with as many as 29.1 overs to spare.

The match was over by 7:50 pm local time and Afridi sure
had enough time to call up MS Dhoni and wish him good luck for Thursday’s do-or-die fixture against Australia. A dream India-Pakistan semifinal would, of course, send the temperatures and TRPs soaring.

Pakistan were so merciless that they conceded just five boundaries in the first 25 overs. The Caribbean side managed barely 19 runs in the first Powerplay, by far the lowest in this World Cup. Only three West Indian batsmen got to double figures and Shivnarine Chanderpaul’s defiant unbeaten 44 (106 balls, 1x6) was hollow to say the least.

West Indies’s annihilating defeat was, perhaps, a soothing balm for the Bangladesh faithful who saw their tigers turn into cubs (58 all out) against Darren Sammy’s men earlier in the
tournament.

The 18,000-odd fans — the local organisers were more than pleased — made Afridi’s men feel completely at home, applauding wildly whenever he struck that now-famous Kodak pose.

Wildly — that’s how Chris Gayle batted for 2.5 overs, hitting two boundaries in quick time, one of them a calculated loft
over mid-off. But before the big man could stamp his authority, Umar Gul (1/13) struck first blood. Hafeez, who shared the new ball with the highly effective medium-pacer, had Devon Smith leg-before in the sixth over for only seven.

Two balls later, Hafeez sent back Darren Bravo, the southpaw pushing one outside the line only to be trapped in front. His idol, the great Brian Charles Lara, sure wouldn’t have liked that. At 16 for three, the West Indies were in complete disarray.

The old guard of Ramnaresh Sarwan (24, 68 balls, 2x4) and Chanderpaul then added 42 painstakingly slow runs in 18.3 overs to take their side past the 50-run mark. In contrast, Pakistan’s openers got to 50 in the eighth over, scoring boundaries — nine to be precise —
at will.

Sarwan played a rash shot, carving Afridi to point where Umar Akmal took a good catch in an awkward position. Kieron Pollard came and went in no time, and so did wicketkeeper Devon Thomas, out leg-before to a trademark faster one from Afridi. The Pathan, now on a hat-trick, couldn’t achieve the feat but Ajmal justified his skipper’s decision to play him by dismissing Darren Sammy and Devendra Bishoo in one over.

At 71/8, even 100 looked like a distant dream. Kemar Roach’s responsible 16 (43 balls, 2x4) and his 40-run stand with Chanderpaul sure gave the big stars some time to reflect on their shambolic effort. Abdul Razzaq then got the better of Roach in the 43rd over, before Afridi ended Ravi Rampaul’s misery in the next.

Scorecard of the match