The knockout begins

Confident Pakistan take on West Indies in the first quarter-final today.

DHAKA:

As Pakistan buried the demons of the last two World Cups and qualified for the knockout stage of the current edition, they remain fully aware of the barriers between them and a semi-final spot: complacency and the explosive West Indies duo of Chris Gayle and Kieron Pollard.

Pakistan endured brief hiccups against Canada, a Ross Taylor carnage in Pallekele, Umar Akmal injury and a Shoaib Akhtar retirement press conference to stake their claims for the trophy - especially after ending Australia’s unbeaten 34-match streak - but know that mistakes will no longer be forgiven from today.

Inconsistent WI look for inspiration

West Indies, however, will go into the match looking to draw inspiration from their manager Richie Richardson.

Richardson was captain when the West Indies overturned the form book in the 1996 quarter-final in Karachi and stunned South Africa, who had come through the league phase unbeaten.

Brian Lara smashed 111 off 94 balls to fashion a 19-run victory and a similar effort from Gayle, Darren Bravo or Pollard could upset Pakistan’s applecart.

“Anything can happen in the knockouts, you don’t get a second chance,” said the 49-year-old Richardson, who took over as manager for a two-year term in January. “Everyone starts on an equal footing.”

Darren Sammy’s men will need a desperate last fling at a time when they seem to be falling apart after two inexplicabe defeats against England and India from dominant positions. The West Indies, who have now lost 18 successive matches against the leading nations, cannot afford another defeat. All is, however, not over yet for the West Indies.

They return to the Shere Bangla stadium in Dhaka where they shot out Bangladesh for their lowest One-Day International total of 58 to romp home by nine wickets in a match that ended in under two hours.

Gayle and key fast-bowler Kemar Roach are also set to return after missing the India game, the former with an abdominal strain and Roach due to illness. There are talks about the recall of experienced batsman Shivnarine Chanderpaul as well.

Pakistan on a high after Australia win

Pakistan, in contrast, have been in form throughout the tournament and topped Group A with five wins in six matches.

Shahid Afridi’s Pakistan broke three-time defending champions Australia’s unbeaten streak with a four-wicket win in Colombo on Saturday.

All-rounder Afridi is the tournament’s leading bowler with 17 wickets with his fast leg-breaks, while seamer Umar Gul has kept the pressure on at the other end with 13 wickets.

But the captain’s explosive batting has failed to shine and with an aggregate of just 65 runs in six matches, Afridi admitted it was time for him to step up.

“Our success so far has been entirely due to the bowlers, who have done a very good job,” said Afridi.

“I have not batted well and will focus on that. I know how important it is for the team and I will try to get some runs on the board.”

While Afridi may have failed with the bat, young guns Umar Akmal and Asad Shafiq have shone brightly in their first World Cup. Akmal has scored 211 runs at 52.75 and Shafiq averages 124 in the two games he has played so far, while seasoned seniors like Misbahul Haq and Younus Khan have lent solidity to the middle-order.

Team manager Intikhab Alam, who was coach when Pakistan won the 1992 World Cup under Imran Khan, was delighted with his side’s performance so far.

The former captain attributed the success to “self-belief, fitness and high energy levels.”

“We are peaking at the right time,” said Alam.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 23^rd, 2011.