Pakistan 113 for 0 (K Akmal 47*, Hafeez 61*) beat West Indies 112 (Chanderpaul 44*, Afridi 4-30) by 10 wickets
Not many would have rated Pakistan as favourites to left the World Cup after the turmoil they went through prior to the tournament. Their preparation was marred with spot fixing allegations, captaincy issues and rumours of dressing room conflicts among many other. Pakistan aren't new to controversy, but the sheer magnitude about the number of things that could distract the team was enough for people to dismiss them as favourites.
One man turned it all around for them, and continues to do so as they stormed into the semi finals - Shahid Afridi. The captain has been in unplayable form with the ball with 21 wickets at the World Cup already(6 better than second placed Zaheer Khan). His stunning bowling was on display again today, against the West Indies when he rocked the middle order to send them crashing to a paltry 112 - their 3rd lowest total in World Cup history. Afridi also became the highest wicket taker for Pakistan at a single World Cup, eclipsing Imran Khan's record. The Pak skipper is also joint 6th highest in the list of most wickets in a single World Cup, and considering his current form it looks like Glenn McGrath's record of 26 wickets in the 2007 WC is in danger.
Mohd. Hafeez and Umar Gul produced dream opening spells accounting for the top 3 wickets and restricting the West Indies to only 18/3 after the first powerplay. Afridi brought himself on in the 17th over with Wahab Riaz looking ineffective and Mohd Hafeez close to finishing his spell.
Ramnaresh Sarwan and Shivnarine Chanderpaul had, like so many times in the past for their troubled team, stuck together and stemmed the rot. The going was, by no means, easy for the duo as Pakistan, uncharacteristically, fielded brilliantly to keep a tight lid on the scoring.
At one stage, the duo had added 18 runs off the bat in 75 balls as West Indies found it impossible to get the runs ticking over. Afridi's introduction only made things tougher for the Calypso Kings, and the Pakistan skipper soon had Sarwan out caught by Umar Akmal for 25.
There was a lot more firepower in the West Indies line up but Kieron Pollard and Darren Sammy weren't exactly tailor made to scratch around for singles and consolidate the innings. Maybe they should've opted to take the attack to the opposition as both the big hitters fell in consecutive overs trying to play cautiously- Pollard to Afridi and Sammy to Ajmal.
With the side reeling at 71/8, Chanderpaul would've been left feeling a sense of deja vu as West Indies suffered a similar collapse against Kenya in 1996 en route to being skittled out for 93. They did fare a little better this time around thanks to the efforts of Kemar Roach and Chanderpaul, who added 40 runs together and kept the Pak bowlers at bay for nearly 15 overs.
With the scoreboard not ticking along, it was only a matter of time before the stand was broken and it came through Abdul Razzaq who had Kemar Roach caught by Younis Khan for 16 (the third highest score of the WI innings). Afridi needed just 3 balls to send the West Indian innings packing as he bowled last man, Ravi Rampaul for a duck as WI folded for a poor 112.
Sammy was spot on in the post match presentation, saying his team were woeful with the bat, "Not enough runs on board, that wasn't the total we were looking for when we started the game. We have been losing wickets in clusters throughout the tournament, particularly against the spinners."
Pakistan's only worry so far in the World Cup has been their opening pair. They have tried different combinations with Ahmed Shehzad, Hafeez and Kamran Akmal but none have managed to click. The openers however found the right time to get into form chasing the total of 112 as they romped home with all 10 wickets intact and close to 30 overs to spare.
The West Indian defense would have depended a lot on Kemar Roach to produce the kind of spell he did against the Netherlands earlier in the World Cup, but the Pakistan openers ensured there were no such setbacks opting to attack the new ball pair of Roach and Rampaul. The move paid rich dividends as Pakistan raced along at close to 10 runs per over and all hopes of a West Indian fightback were quickly disappearing.
Once the platform for the victory was in place (if the bowling hadn't provided it already) the batsmen chose to take a much safer route and get their team home. Hafeez was the more aggressive, smashing 10 fours in his 64 ball 61 while Kamran Akmal was not too far away smashing a few superb boundaries on his way to 47. It proved to be a canter at the end for Pakistan as they made became the first team in the semis in sensational fashion.
Afridi, who had before the World Cup promised to take his side to the semis, was ecstatic with the performance, "This has been a great performance, it is the best gift that I can give to the fans back home and to those who have travelled all the way. Each game, we make plans against the opposition and we stuck to our plans like always. The openers played really well today and took us home."
Have a Look Video For Afridi Wickets
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