The West Indies celebrate their victory over Pakistan in the first game of the Cricket World Cup at Sabina Park yesterday. - Junior Dowie/Staff PhotographerTony Becca, Contributing Editor
THE 2007 Cricket World Cup got off to an exciting and encouraging start at Sabina Park yesterday with the batsmen of the West Indies, headed by Marlon Samuels, Ramnaresh Sarwan and Brian Lara, and those of Pakistan, led by Shoaib Malik, Mohammad Yousuf and Inzamam-ul-Haq, entertaining a near-capacity crowd with some marvellous strokeplay on a bright and beautiful day.
For the West Indies, however, the curtain-raiser was more than encouraging, and more than exciting.
Paced by Samuels' classic shot-making, a fine all-round performance by Dwayne Smith, who smashed two sixes and three fours while blasting 32 runs off 15 deliveries in 15 minutes before returning to pocket three wickets for 36 runs off his 10 overs, and a brilliant diving catch by Dwayne Bravo, who also returned figures of three for 42 off nine overs with the ball, it was simply positive and really thrilling.
Easy win
Bidding to become the first home team to win the 32-year-old tournament and searching for their first victory since winning the first two contests in 1975 and 1979, the West Indies cornered and then easily defeated Pakistan - the champions of 1992 who are hunting their second title.
Batting first on a nice, friendly pitch for batsmen after losing the toss, the West Indies posted 241 for nine off the allotted 50 overs. Then, after pacers Daren Powell, two for 42 off his 10 consecutive overs, and Jerome Taylor, one for 38 off his 10 overs, had handed them a good start with the ball, restricted Pakistan who, ripped apart by medium-pacer Smith, collapsed to 187 in 47.2 overs after a promising 99 for three and while losing their last three wickets for zero runs in four deliveries - including that of Malik, the last man out after scoring 62 off 65 deliveries, after stroking six fours and blasting one six.
In the last World Cup in 2003, the West Indies failed to move out of the first round after defeating South Africa in their opening match, but with Zimbabwe and Ireland their remaining opponents in the first round, they must, this time around, back themselves to go through to the second round and the Super Eights.
Disappointment
For Pakistan, the disappointment of yesterday's loss may be tempered by the fact that for the second round, for the Super Eights in which all the teams play each other but one, it matters not who finishes first or second in the first round.
After setting Pakistan a target of just over 4.80 runs per over, and after opening batsmen Imran Nazir had hit the second delivery of the innings from Powell over point for six, the West Indies looked good for victory when they picked up three wickets and left Pakistan struggling at 39 for three in the 11th over.
Bowling from the north, Powell removed Nazir with the following delivery, the third of the innings, and made it six for one when he beat the right-hander off the pitch and left wicketkeeper Denesh Ramdin to do the rest.
After two maiden overs, one from Taylor and one from Powell, after a glorious drive to the long-off boundary by Younis Khan off Taylor, it was 17 for two in the fourth over when Younis attempted to pull a short delivery pitched way outside the off stump and edged a catch to wicketkeeper Ramdin. It was 39 for three when, after two spanking drives to the long-on boundary off Powell, Mohammed Hafeez went at Powell and was caught by Lara at mid-on.
At that stage, the contest, the balance, was in favour of the West Indies and the fans were in high spirits.
With Yousuf and captain Inzamam batting cautiously and quietly, however, Pakistan gradually played themselves out of trouble, and with the two senior Pakistan batsmen apparently seeing the ball as big as a breadfruit and timing it well, with both batsmen reeling off some lovely strokes, with Yousuf, formerly Yousuf Youhana, stroking one boundary while scoring 37 off 65 deliveries, and Inzamam four boundaries while scoring 36 off 65 deliveries, they looked a good bet to win the match.
After taking over from Powell at 64 for three off 20 overs, however, after seeing Pakistan rally to 99 for three in after 29 overs, Smith struck, and in four overs, the match was all but over.
Bowling from the north, Smith sent Yousuf packing - the batsman, at 99, going on to the back foot, attempting to drive and edging a catch to Ramdin. Three overs later, he removed Inzamam leg before wicket at 116 for five, and with the following delivery he had Kamran Akmal, zero at 116 for six, caught by Bravo diving to his left at backward point.
Earlier on in the proceedings, the West Indies lost Chris Gayle for two at seven for one in the morning's third over - the left-hander, attempting to go forward defensively and edging Umar Gul to wicketkeeper Akmal.
And it could have been seven for two one delivery later when Sarwan, driving at the first ball he received, edged Gul to second slip where Younis Khan dropped the catch.
After that, however, Sarwan played some great shots before, at 49 at 77 for three and after stroking three fours and one six while batting for 65 deliveries, he edged pacer Rao Iftikhar into the slips where Younis held on to the catch.
Lara, joining the action on Sarwan's departure, also played some wonderful strokes, including some delicate ones through the slips and to fine-leg, before, after scoring 37 off 60 deliveries with three fours and one six, he attempted to sweep part-time offspinner Mohammad Hafeez from outside the offstump and edged a catch to Akmal.
For the West Indies, however, the star batsman was Samuels - the number four who arrived at the crease at the fall of Shivnarine Chanderpaul at 64 for two.
With Chanderpaul scoring 19 off 63 deliveries, Samuels scored 63 off 68 deliveries, stroked five fours, and hit three magnificent sixes - a straight drive off Iftikhar, a chip and drive over long-on off legspinner Danish Kaneria, and before he was caught on the long-on boundary by Shoaib Malik off Hafeez at 181 for five, a drive over long-off offspinner Malik.
West Indies innings
| C. Gayle c Akmal b Gul | 2 |
| S. Chanderpaul c Akmal b Iftikhar | 19 |
| R. Sarwan c Khan b Iftikhar | 49 |
| M. Samuels c Malik b Hafeez | 63 |
| B. Lara c Akmal b Hafeez | 37 |
| D. Bravo c Naved-ul-Hasan b Iftikhar | 16 |
| D. Ramdin st Akmal b Kaneria | 1 |
| D. Smith c Inzamam-ul-Haq b Gul | 32 |
| J. Taylor run out | 2 |
| D. Powell not out | 1 |
| C. Collymore not out | 8 |
| Extras (lb-2 nb-3 w-6) | 11 |
| Total (for nine wkts - 50 overs) | 241 |
Fall: 1-7 2-64 3-77 4-168 5-181 6-183 7-223 8-228 9-232 Bowling: Umar Gul 9-1-38-2 (1nb, 2w), Naved-ul-Hasan 9-1-49-0 (2nb), Rao Iftikhar Anjum 10-3-44-3, Danish Kaneria 9-2-45-1 (3w), Mohammad Hafeez 9-0-39-2, Shoaib Malik 4-0-24-0. Pakistan innings I. Nazir c Ramdin b Powell | 6 |
| M. Hafeez c Lara b Powell | 11 |
| Y. Khan c Ramdin b Taylor | 9 |
| M. Yousuf c Ramdin b Smith | 37 |
Inzamam-ul-Haq lbw Smith 36 S. Malik c Chanderpaul b Collymore | 62 |
| K. Akmal c Bravo b Smith | 0 |
| R. Naved-ul-Hasan b Bravo | 11 |
| Rao Iftikhar Anjum c Lara b Bravo | 11 |
| U. Gul c&b Bravo | 0 |
| D. Kaneria not out | 0 |
| Extras (lb-2 w-2) | 4 |
| Total (all out - 47.2 overs) | 187 |
Fall: 1-6 2-17 3-39 4-99 5-116 6-116 7-144 8-187 9-187, 10-187 Bowling: Powell 10-1-42-2, Taylor 10-1-38-1, Collymore 8.2-3-27-1 (1w), Smith 10-0-36-3, Bravo 9-0-42-3 (1w). Result: West Indies won by 54 runs. Man-of-the-match: Dwayne Smith.
|
