Ramnaresh Sarwan was dismissed for 87 against Pakistan yesterday in Perth. -HAMISH BLAIR/GETTY IMAGES
PERTH, Australia, CMC:
FACED WITH a daunting target, partly because of missed opportunities and tactical errors in the field, the West Indies still managed to misuse a winning position in their run-chase, succumbing to a 30-run defeat to Pakistan in the decisive final preliminary match of the VB Series yesterday.
The result gives Inzamam-ul-Haq's men the cherished ticket into the best-of-three finals against Australia, beginning on Friday in Melbourne, while Brian Lara's dejected outfit now starts the
journey home, conscious that they have once again folded at the critical moment.
A polished 105 from Man of the Match Yousuf Youhanna and 74 by Inzamam, lifted the Pakistanis to a formidable 307 for eight after they were put in by Lara.
The West Indies skipper contributed just 19 runs in his team's response but the Guyanese duo of Ramnaresh Sarwan (87) and Shivnarine Chanderpaul (58) kept their team firmly on course in a 95-run fourth-wicket stand at better than a run-a-ball.
Yet having played sensibly since coming together at Lara's demise, the pair were possessed by moments of recklessness within minutes of each other, while Dwayne Bravo also fell victim to the rashness bug that turned a comfortable 194 for three in the 33rd over to 203 for six, two overs later.
EXCELLENT BOWLING
Wavell Hinds and Courtney Browne kept West Indian hopes alive, but excellent bowling by the impressive Rana Naved-ul-Hassan extinguished those aspirations.
The medium-pacer bowled Browne for 36 with the first ball of the 49th over to end the innings at 277 and seal Pakistan's victory, finishing with the fine figures of four for 29 off 9.1 overs.
"That's the point in time when the game slightly changed in Pakistan's favour," said Lara after the match in referring to the demise of Sarwan and Chanderpaul in quick succession.
PLANS TO IMPROVE
"There are areas in the game we need to dissect, but at least the coach (Bennett King) is here for the first time with us in a tournament. He sees what's in front of him and I'm sure we're going to make plans to improve."
Pakistan will be heavy underdogs going into the finals, but
having defeated Australia and
the West Indies in their last two matches here in Perth, Youhanna says there is a renewed spirit in their team after a disappointing tour so far.
"We have come together and done a lot of talking," the classy right-hander explained. "The captain and coach have tried to get everybody to pick themselves
up over the last few games. We're trying hard."
They were indeed determined in front of a scattering of spectators at the Western Australian Cricket Association (WACA) ground, but needed more than the odd slice of luck in posting their formidable total in excellent batting conditions.
Ian Bradshaw removed openers Salman Butt and Kamran Akmal with 44 runs on the board in the 14th over, but Pakistan could have been in an even more perilous position had a succession of run-out opportunities not been frittered away by the West Indies.
Reon King was slow to react to an early chance and Ricardo Powell wasted a chance himself from backward point, but the critical incident came when Youhanna and Yasir Hameed got into another terrible mix-up.
King, the bowler following through, was about to pick up the ball to effect the run out when Youhanna kicked it from his reach while stranded out of his ground.
It may have appeared inadvertent, but television replays confirmed opinions that the West Indies players should have at least appealed for Youhanna's dismissal by the unusual manner of obstructing the field.
Making the most of that reprieve, the Pakistan vice-captain was joined by Inzamam after King bowled Hameed for 24, and they tilted the balance of the match with a 134-run fourth-wicket partnership.
Playing carefully at first, they eased their way into a position of control before accelerating the scoring dramatically over the final 15 overs.
Inzamam had crashed ten boundaries in a deceptively quick innings that spanned just 67 balls when he was bowled by Bravo.
Abdul Razzaq failed to make an impact but Shahid Afridi's quickfire 23 off ten balls included two sixes, the second an incredible shot played off one leg as he swatted a delivery from outside the off-stump 20 metres over the boundary at midwicket.
MEASURED INNINGS
Youhanna's measured innings ended in the final over by the run out route.
Striking eight of the 100 balls he faced for boundaries, he underlined the value of holding an innings together while 83 runs were plundered off the final seven overs. Lara's gamble of combining Hinds and Chris Gayle for ten overs brought abysmal returns, the pair conceding 95 runs.
Gayle could not make amends with the bat at the start of the West Indies reply, edging his third delivery from Rana to wicketkeeper Kamran Akmal to depart for a duck and ending a disappointing tour in which so much was expected of him.
Powell flailed away in partnership with the attacking Sarwan, and while they were never totally convincing, the pair pushed the Caribbean side ahead of the required rate in a 67-run stand that ended when the persevering Rana also had Powell caught behind.
Lara arrived to the usual murmur of anticipation, especially after his commanding 156 against the same opponents the previous Friday in Adelaide.
He was obviously still bothered by a left wrist injury, but looked ominous in hammering four boundaries before a mistimed pull off left-arm seamer Mohammed Khalil gave Iftikhar Rao a comfortable catch running around from mid-on.
