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Pakistan v West Indies
Re-live all the action from the Cricket World Cup quarter-finals with our over-by-over coverage from Mirpur from earlier today.
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It’s the game that clichés were bound for. Two teams that are as ‘unpredictable’ as they come.
Actually, that’s only half-true.
While we all know about Pakistan, West Indies have become as predictable as they come. Unfailingly, they beat the sides they should beat and lose to everyone else, to the extent they haven’t beaten any of the other quarter finalists since June 2009 (an eight-wicket win against India). Since then, they have lost 19 games against them. Today would be a pretty decent time to end that run, and they do have a chance. The West Indies have a balanced side, with a genuinely threatening spinner, and Kemar Roach, probably their best fast bowling prospect since Ambrose and Walsh. Obviously that’s largely because the rest have tended to bowl utter dross, and Roach is miles off their standard, but you know what I mean. Add Chris Gayle, and maybe Kieran Pollard, and you have a potentially explosive side.
Pakistan have been excellent so far this tournament, save for a brief addiction to bowling full-tosses in the defeat to New Zealand. Their top three have been really short of runs, but a middle-order of Younis Khan, Misbah ul-Haq and Umar Akmal is formidable. Add in Shahid Afridi, the top tournament wicket-taker, and Umar Gul, normally an exceptional death bowler and now learning how to do it with the new ball too, and you can see why many are tipping them for the title. Me? I think they’re still too liable to implode, and I’m not sure how much I rate their batting under pressure.
Both teams, then, will be very happy with the draw they have. On that basis, it should be a fascinating game.
Prediction (liable to be changed at any point of my choosing): West Indies edge a close game. -
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TEAM NEWS - WEST INDIES
West Indies drop Andre Russell - who scored 49 off 46 and took four wickets against England - and bring in Shivnarine Chanderpaul. Rampul stays in after five wickets against India, but there's no Benn which is a real surprise. The suspicion that they would be a better team with Russell (or Benn) in for Darren Sammy (their captain) is hard to shake off. -
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TEAMS
So to recap, here they are in full:
Pakistan
Mohammad Hafeez, Kamran Akmal†, Asad Shafiq, Younis Khan, Misbah-ul-Haq, Umar Akmal, Abdul Razzaq, Shahid Afridi*, Umar Gul, Wahab Riaz, Saeed Ajmal
West Indies
DS Smith, CH Gayle, DM Bravo, RR Sarwan, S Chanderpaul, KA Pollard, DC Thomas†, DJG Sammy*, D Bishoo, R Rampaul, KAJ Roach -
This, incidentally, is the first World Cup quarter-final since 1996 - reflecting that cricket is a sport in which everyone has generally known who the top 8 sides are, hence the reason to create some excitement by getting rid of some major sides before the knockouts. Though the 42-game group stages were, lets be honest, A LOT better than we all expected.
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West Indies 4 -0 off 1 over (Smith 4, Gayle 0)
And the first ball is cut for four! Shot, that. Devon Smith has actually been in good knick this tournament, with a ton that saved West Indies' bacon against Ireland and a fine 81 against India. There's a loud appeal third ball - it looks tasty but just pitched outside leg, so a wise decision not to refer it. The fourth ball is a jaffa, just beating Smith's groping bat. Interesting first over. -
West Indies 9 -0 off 2 overs (Smith 4, Gayle 4)
It's not Ajmal, but I half-called it because it is another spinner - Hafeez. He's decent but not frontline. He goes berserk second ball, but again no review, and against seemingly pitched down leg. But Afridi sometimes gets over-excited and refers anyway (particularly if he's bowling...)
There's a wide and then the fifth ball is swatted towards mid-wicket for four. Good old Gayle! Though I suspect he's going to try and score at a-run-a-ball here, rather than two, and he plays a solid forward defensive to the last ball. -
WICKET! West Indies 14 -1 off 2.5 overs (Smith 5, Gayle 8 OUT)
The model for West Indies will be this game - www.espncricinfo.com from the 96 World Cup when Lara did to South Africa what they hope Gayle will do to Pakistan today. And that's another one! Gayle, back on strike after Smith pinched a single, whacks Gul over mid-off. But now he's gone! -
It's a pretty obvious thing to say, but Gayle really didn't need to do that. He'd already hit one four that over and wanted another, but hit it to Afridi, who took a good catch at wide mid-off. Now for the Windies to show they're about more than Gayle.
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West Indies 15 -1 off 4 overs (Smith 6, Sarwan 0)
Smith is understandably playing cautiously here, but pinches a single off his fourth ball, nudging wide of mid-on. This is useful from Hafeez, especially considering he's basically Pakistan's sixth bowler. Only one from the over. -
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I thought he might have referred that actually, but it was probably hitting the stumps. Pretty poor shot, just missed it basically as he looked to work to leg. West Indies 16-2 now, which isn't where you want to be when you've lost your last 19 games against fellow quarter-finalists.
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West Indies 16 -3 off 6 overs (Chanderpaul 0, Sarwan 0)
Oh dear West Indies. I'm not that surprised, but I hoped for rather more. They could be all out 140 at this rate.But here's Shiv. Wonderful, crab-like Shiv, with a big point to prove after being dropped earlier in the tournament. Will we see any resistance? -
West Indies 17 -3 off 7 overs (Chanderpaul 0, Sarwan 1)
They're just replaying the wickets. You have to say none of the balls were anything special, though Hafeez's to get Bravo was pretty good. Time to dig in now, forget we are in powerplay territory. A dab to third man gets Sarwan of the mark. Gul aims to york Chanderpaul's leg stump but Shiv deals with it well enough. But, even as West Indian starts go, this is truly dire. -
West Indies 18 -3 off 8 overs (Chanderpaul 0, Sarwan 2)
The third umpire is asked whether Sarwan is stumped but he's well in. He steers a single off the third ball, and then Hafeez fires one past Chanderpaul from round the wicket - almost a wide. Again, only one of the over. -
West Indies 18 -3 off 9 overs (Chanderpaul 0, Sarwan 2)
I see the average score in day-night games at Mirpur is 243. West Indies would go crazy if you offered them 200 right now. Finally a bit of intent - a good off-drive from Sarwan, but straight to the fielder. Gul is bowling well - maybe West Indies should see him off and target Riaz and Razzaq? That seems to be what Sarwan's thinking. He leaves the last ball and it's a maiden. Two an over! -
West Indies 18 -3 off 10 overs (Chanderpaul 0, Sarwan 2)
West Indies continue to treat Hafeez like he's Murali (or, as you would say today, Graeme Swann). No positive foot movement or anything but you can understand why. ANOTHER MAIDEN. This partnership is now worth 2 from 26 balls. -
West Indies 19 -3 off 11 overs (Chanderpaul 0, Sarwan 3)
Wahab Riaz is on, bowling left-arm round the wicket. He's no Amir, but as left-arm quicks go he's pretty handy, able to nick the ball back to the left-armer (which, a decade ago, Chaminda Vaas kept doing to dismiss Mike Atherton). Is anyone else regretting not backing Pakistan at 9-1 before the tournament? Sarwan pinches a single into the legside to move onto a positively Gayle-esque 3 from 25. Chanderpaul blocks, remaining 0 off 15. 5 runs from the last 8 overs! -
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West Indies 32 -3 off 13 overs (Chanderpaul 2, Sarwan 12)
Riaz is round the wicket to both batsmen and, from the second ball, Shiv tucks him round the corner for one, though it was quite close to being caught. Then - a miracle - Sarwan hits a four! It was on his legs and tucked fine, as you'd expect from a man with an ODI average of 43 (that's exceptional - even Tendulkar's is only 2 runs more). Two balls later he punches one through the covers - another boundary, and West Indies are positively racing along now! It's followed by a wide, so West Indies have more from the over than from the last nine combined. -
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West Indies 36 -3 off 15 overs (Chanderpaul 3, Sarwan 13)Riaz continues, and his third ball is steered for a single by Sarwan. But it's also a no-ball so we get a free hit. Admittedly, you probably wouldn't choose Shiv to face it in this frame of mind - and he can only scrape a single, to point. Riaz's next ball is a wide. He has released the pressure slightly and, after three overs, has gone for 15. It's not a lot, really, but in the context of this game it feels like it. That, incidentally, is also the end of the bowling powerplay.
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West Indies 38 -3 off 17 overs (Chanderpaul 4, Sarwan 14)
Shahid Afridi, leading wicket-taker in the competition with 17 is back on. A few balls in he reviews an lbw shout after a googly. He tends to be more likely to review when he’s the bowler. It’s hitting the stumps but Sarwan took a good stride in – more than 2.5 metres. The impact was also outside off stump. The very next ball the same thing happens, but the ball looks to be sliding down. Suspect Afridi would normally have been very tempted to review it, but he’d look a bit silly if he used up both reviews in two balls. Anyway, after all that it’s still a maiden. -
West Indies 39-3 off 18 overs (Chanderpaul 5 Sarwan 14)
Has anyone seen this story incidentally - www.dailymail.co.uk Very interesting. I could certainly see Ponting captaining a county side to end his career, but I reckon he might fancy a few more years playing Tests. But maybe he won’t get to make that choice.
Saaed Ajmal, he of the excellent doosra, comes on and starts well. Just a single from the over, and the run-rate is a derisory 2.16 an over. Batsman’s game? -
West Indies 44-3 off 19 overs (Chanderpaul 7 Sarwan 16)
Afridi stays on – one to Shiv to long-off (why the need one to a batsman with 5 in over an hour is beyond me). Sarwan is then DROPPED by Gul at wide long off – difficult chance in the deep, but the way in which he dropped it made him look a bit silly. There’s then a few singles, and five off the over/ -
West Indies 47-3 off 20 overs (Chanderpaul 10 Sarwan 16)
As I hit the travel sweets Ajmal continues, giving it plenty of loop. He’s a sort of off-spinning Abdul Qadir. Just as Qadir used to bowl his googly almost as a stock ball, so Ajmal loves his doosra. Shiv gets a two, and there’s 3 from the over. He CAN explode, you know – he once scored a 69-ball Test century against Australia – and, with 10 from 43, he’ll need to later on. -
West Indies 50-3 off 21 overs (Chanderpaul 12 Sarwan 17)
I guess we’re into the ‘boring middle overs’. That probably suits West Indies – if they can score at 4-5 an over they could manoeuvre their way to 110-3 off 35, and then hit their way to 200. That’s about the height of their ambitions. Three risk-free singles from the Afridi over. -
West Indies 52-3 off 22 overs (Chanderpaul 13 Sarwan 18)
More teasing Ajmal, and it takes Shiv until the fourth ball to get a single. Sarwan then plays a sweep which goes for another single off the bottom of the bat. Two from the over, which just isn’t good enough. -
West Indies 55-3 off 23 overs (Chanderpaul 13 Sarwan 21)
A bit of intent (gasp) from Sarwan. A forceful drive doesn’t penetrate the infield, but he swots the next ball away for two through mid-wicket. He’s actually using his feet against the spinners, which must be a good ploy. These two are racing through the overs – I wonder whether West Indies can believe they’re already almost halfway through their innings. -
West Indies 58-3 off 24 overs (Chanderpaul 13 Sarwan 24)
Why didn’t West Indies play two spinners? I know Rampaul got five wickets in the last game, but this pitch is made for them. You have to say Benn in for Sammy would make for a stronger looking side.
Ajmal offers Sarwan some width, but good fielding means he gets 2 rather than 4. He gets a single to a cut from the fifth ball, and then Shiv pats back the last door. Just three from the over. Pollard or bust for the West Indies. -
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West Indies 67-4 off 26 overs (Chanderpaul 21 Pollard 1)
I said Shiv could explode! So Pollard comes in and Shiv hits a six. That’s a fine slog sweep of Ajmal – need a lot more of them, mind. After a single boring Pollards plays four dot balls. Typical. -
WICKET! Pollard out for 1!
More Afridi, Shiv hitting the third ball down the ground for a single. If West Indies are to have any chance, this really is the partnership. That’ll help a tad, as Afridi fires one down leg. That won’t! Pollard gone now! -
So Pollard gets 1 off 7 balls. Trademark quick delivery from Afridi - I think it was the slidder, it just went straight on - and Pollard tried to play a cute cut, only to be caught be the most reliable keeper in world cricket, Kamran Akmal. Well, anyway, he caught it.
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