Pakistan captain Misbahul Haq played a responsible innings steered Pakistan to within a run of victory. PHOTO: AFP
Pakistan captain Misbahul Haq played a responsible innings steered Pakistan to within a run of victory. Facing Holder in the final over as his team and fans waited on the captain to strike the winning run, he managed to lump it to midwicket where he was caught by DJ Bravo. He made 63 runs off 93 balls. Earlier Ahmed Shahzad laid the foundation for Pakistan's victory with a responsible 64 runs off 100 balls. Umar Akmal made a quick 37 off just 28 ball as Pakistan pushed to beat the weather.
Earlier, a Fiery Dwayne Bravo helped Windies to post a formidable total of 242 for 7, after being put into bat by Pakistan, espncricinfo reported.
Bravo was the highest scorer, as he scored 48 runs off just 27 balls, Johnson Charlse and Marlon Samuels made 43 and 45 respectively.
Junaid Khan was the pick of the bowlers, he took three wickets for 48 off his 10 overs, while Muhammad Irfan took two for 34 off his 10 overs.
Earlier, Misbahul Haq won the toss and yet again, put his opponents in to bat first, reports Cricinfo.
Pakistan brought in Asad Ali to replace Wahab Riaz for the final ODI.
West Indies also made a change replacing Kemar Roach, who came up with a sore back this morning, with Tino Best.
This is the fifth instance in this series that the team winning the toss is choosing to field first. Misbah was quoted as saying that batting second could be easier because "the wicket gets flat in the afternoon".
Another factor that must be on his mind is rain, whose persistent interference and the subsequent D/L revised targets are known to usually work more in favour of the team batting second.
Pakistan
1. Nasir Jamshed, 2. Ahmed Shehzad, 3. Mohammad Hafeez, 4. Misbah-ul-Haq (capt), 5. Haris Sohail, 6. Umar Akmal (wk), 7. Shahid Afridi, 8. Asad Ali, 9. Junaid Khan, 10. Saeed Ajmal, 11. Mohammad Irfan
West Indies
1. Devon Smith, 2. Johnson Charles (wk), 3. Darren Bravo, 4. Marlon Samuels, 5. Chris Gayle, 6. Lendl Simmons, 7. Dwayne Bravo (capt), 8. Darren Sammy, 9. Sunil Narine, 10. Tino Best, 11. Jason Holder
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@Ali: If it comes to winning matches, then I am afraid that Misbah's has got a better record. Giving you a recent example, Pakistan won two matches against SA in SA in the 5 match series. In both the matches Misbah was the key to success. And in both the matches he was given a helping a hand by Shoaib Malik. Had he given the same helping hand in other matches Pakistan could have the ODI series against SA in SA which would have been historical. As far as chasing big totals are concerned, this has been an area of concern for Pakistan even long before Misbah's advent. In fact before the 5th ODI, many would not give Pakistan a chance to chase anything beyond 225+. So the successful 243 chase is not only a good sign for Pakistan cricket but also shows the aggressive attitude of Misbah by electing to bat second after winning the match. @Afridi fan: I have already mentioned that Pakistan won 2 ODIs against SA in SA, and could have won more, both with Misbah's woodwork, so your assertion that Misbah cannot win matches for Pakistan against SA and other big teams appears not true. Regarding not giving Afridi full quota of overs, I wish you could have watched the last 3 ODIs, where Afridi was not only expensive but released the pressure from WI batsmen during the middle overs. And this is really interesting to note that you don't expect Umer Akmal and Afridi doing what they are supposed to do and take Mibah for granted. Should Misbah first recollect the collapsed batting line, steer through the middle overs singlehandedly while batsmen on the other end keep giving their wickets, and then also slog in the finishing overs? This is too much to expect in a team game, imo. @Pakistan: I remember the old times of Inzi, Yousuf, and even of Miandad. During all these times, Pakistan's strategy was always saving wickets for slogging in the last overs. This is also evident from the fact that Pakistan has the best record of batting in the last 10 overs. 1992 WC Semi Final is one loud example, The real problem with Pakistan is not the slow pace in the middle overs, but the irresponsible attitude of the top order which can be easily bet upon. And the solution is to teach these players how to not throw away their wicket until last overs and the result would be positive. Ahmed Shahzad tried that in the final ODI by improving his temperament which proved pivotal for the pleasant ending.
No doubt without Umar akmal, opening stand Ahmed shehzad, middle order Misbah and Afridi six make it a winning combination!
@Cricket: Agree with you that when comes to crease at difficult situations but rule of oneday game is rotation of strike which he cant do, he puts lots of pressure on batting line that required rate climbes to 8 to 10 an over. No doubt he is playing as sheetanchor role but dont compare him with Inzi he was class act he was a great finisher but unfortunatly Misbah cant finish the game and he has to change his tuk tuk approach.
Misbah's approach has so far worked against a team like West Indies..but it wont get us anywhere in a bigger tournament like a world cup..against teams like Australia,SA, England and India.even WI up their game tremendously in bigger tournaments. when you are seeing that Umar Akmal is in form...why not send him up the order. Also i think, Afridi scores atleast one good innings every series (88 vs SA and 76 vs WI) so we can make more of him by assigning him more responsibibility.asking him to stay on the pitch while playing up the order..we need aggression if we are to score 250+.
It is also beyond my that if Afridi has taken 10 wickets in the tournament why not give him full overs..only 5-6 overs he bowls and is removed. Not to mention the 6 and the 4 in bravos over byAfridi, and the 16 runs in the 41st over by Umar Akmal relieved the pressure else we had little to chance to win this game.
@Cricket: Lets see how he copes against a total of 260 plus....I don't want to disappoint you, but he is not likely to continue with this strike rate against better teams unlike Inzi and Yousaf, who actually won us matches rather than just improving their stats. Secondly, misbah will have to realize that he should put players like umar akmal up the order so that they too get a chance to settle in the match. I would just say that leaving everything to the last over is not a sustainable approach which is bound to fail in critical situations...Misbah was rightfully criticized in the past for this and im afraid he will again be battered if he continues this method
@Ali: For your kind information, Misbah's strike rate is 73 very close to what Inzi and Yousuf had. So your assertion-cum-slur does not hold in the face of hard facts. We must also need to realize that more often than not Misbah has to come on the crease with a collapsed top order. This situation requires someone to stand on the pitch and avoid giving more wickets. But whenever there is a situation to accelerate Misbah can do that with much ease. 4th ODI between Pakistan and West Indies is a good case in point. He is the most clean hitter of the ball in the Pakistani batting line. Please appreciate that he has hit the most number of sixes in ODIs in the calendar year to-date. You might afree, if he were not there, Pakistani batting line is not capable to survive till 30-35 overs, leave alone 50 overs. He plays an anchor role and this is the responsibility of likes of Umer Akmal, Afridi, etc to help him in finishing the match, as happened in the last 2 ODIs and result was obvious. Had someone supported him in the recent ICC Champions Trophy the results could have been entirely different. But expecting Misbah to first recollect the batting line after top order collapse and then bring team home single handedly is utterly unfair imo.
Yes, Misbah has been consistent and well played by him and the team....But 200, 250....is this the par score for our team?... I don't think Misbah's Tuk Tuk strategy will be effective against teams like India, Srilanka or southafrica which like to pile up runs......try chasing a score of 260 plus with this strategy and Misbah's approach to the game will be questioned big time
Pakistanis are genius. Only one player performed consistently and lead the team to victory from the front foot. Yet many of these geniuses hate the only dependable bat in Pakistan!
This is refreshingly surprising to see how Misbah has forced his fierce critics mum through his consistent winning performances. He faced all sort of negativeness and slurs in the past but proved that hardworking and honesty cannot be beaten and that in a society where people increasingly think short cuts as the only way to success. This is high time that Misbah should be given full support by the Cricket Board as he is the only viable option for captaincy for the World Cup 2015. @A. Khan: Although Pakistan has done that in the past also, but beating Kaali Andhi in their home is never easy for any team in the world.
Misbah once again TUK Pakistan home !! @Sry: Gul is undergoing recovery after his got a major surgery in Australia recently.
@ I agree that Pakistan batting has not been consistent. But I don't think West Indies is a "third rate cricket team". They are ICC champions, if you recall.
I see people are ecstatic, good on them, but beating a third rate cricket team does not set the bar very high. Our cricket team is sorely out of quality players. After the initial promise, most new comers have faded away. The less said about the veterans, the better. Only Misbah stands out but compared to some veterans, he is a newbie to the team.
King Misbah!
Congrats PAK Team and Pakistan!!!!!!!!!!!
Too good. too good! Misbah wins it for Pakistan again! It was great to see Pakistan chasing down a substantial target after so long. Keep it up!
Misbah's critics left mum once more.
Great performance by Irfan too, his first 5 overs he had 25 for 0; last 5 overs 9 for 2.
Shehzad and Sohail should be retained for whatever next ODI series we have even if they haven't turned talent to runs yet; as should Umar Amin, who should get a chance soon, when others lose form (see: Hafeez). Amin is a good replacement for Hafeez because he can bowl as well.
With bowling, third seamer remains an issue as neither Asad ali nor Wahab has impressed. One too slow and the other just not intelligent enough, where is Gul ?
Yahooooooo...last ball with full suspense ..:)
Exemplary performance by Misbah!
Great news!
Pakistan won yaay. Ahmed & Afridi rocks again.