It was Pakistan Day

Afridi, Hafeez shine as West Indies thrashed by 10 wickets in quarter-final.

DHAKA:

Pakistan captain Shahid Afridi said the huge World Cup quarter-final victory over the West Indies was the perfect present his team could give to fans back home on the country’s national day.

Pakistan beat West Indies by 10 wickets and set up a semi-final clash against India or Australia in Mohali on March 30.

“This is the best gift we could give back to the nation on Pakistan Day,” said a beaming Afridi. “We have planned for each and every game and tried to stick to these plans. It was good to see Mohammad Hafeez and Kamran Akmal doing a great job.”

Hafeez made 61 off 64 balls and Akmal hit 47 to help Pakistan surpass the 112-run target in 20.5 overs. This was the highest opening stand in this World Cup for the 1992 champions.

Leading from the front

Afridi also contributed to the huge win, bagging four wickets for 30 runs off 9.3 overs to consolidate his position as the tournament’s leading wicket-taker.

“I just tried to maintain my line and length,” said the leg-spinner. “These were perfect conditions for spin if you landed it on the length. We had tried Abdur Rehman against New Zealand and Australia and he did well. Today we backed Hafeez and he pulled it off with the new ball.”

Hafeez finally shines

Hafeez picked two wickets in four balls and was named man of the match.

“I really worked hard over the last couple of days and it worked for me,” said the off-spinner. “The coach told me a couple of days ago that I’d bowl with the new ball, and I tried it at the nets. I just kept them on a line and length and it worked today.

“My batting form also came back at the right time and I hope to carry on.”

Sammy disappointed

Meanwhile, West Indies captain Darren Sammy accepted that his team had been outplayed.

“We did not have enough runs on the board and we didn’t counter the bowling well, and fell well short,” he said. “We have lost wickets in clusters throughout the tournament, more to spin, and this match was no exception. We were forced on the back foot early and never recovered.”

The collapse

West Indies lost wickets regularly after Darren Sammy won the toss and elected to take first strike.

Veteran Shivnarine Chanderpaul, brought back after being left out for the previous match against India, was the only batsman to defy the spinners with a grim unbeaten 44 off 106 balls.

West Indies were reduced to 71 for eight before a 40-run stand between Kemar Roach and Chanderpaul helped the former champions surpass their lowest World Cup total of 93 against Kenya in Pune in 1996.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 24^th, 2011.