Pakistan booked their place in the last four emphatically by beating the West Indian cricket team by 10 wickets in their World Cup quarter-final encounter in Dhaka.

Having won the toss and opted to bat first the West Indies were dismissed for a mere 112 – their third lowest score in the history of the tournament.

Shivnarine Chanderpaul was left high and dry by his team-mates on 44 not out. Ramnaresh Sarwan (24) was the only other batsman to make it into double figures in a sorry-looking scorecard.

Pakistan skipper Shahid Afridi led the way with 4-30 before watching on as openersMohammad Hafeez and Kamran Akmal (47 not out) knocked off the paltry 113 required in less than 21 overs.

Hafeez finished up on 61 not out to complete a fine all-round display – he had earlier claimed 2-16 with his off-spin after being asked to open the bowling.

As for West Indies, they found the boot firmly on the other foot as their sorry campain came to an end at a venue where they had dismissed Bangladesh for just 58 in the group stages.

Chris Gayle’s return from injury offered some hope for the men from the Caribbean before play got underway but once he slapped Umar Gul to Afridi at mid-off to depart for eight, the innings subsided in a hurry.
the impressive Hafeez struck twice in the sixth over, left-handed duo Devon Smith and Darren Bravo both correctly given out leg before.
Sarwan and Chanderpaul did try and repair the situation, dragging the score to 58 before the former cut straight to point to become Afridi’s first victim.

The leg spinner then removed Kieron Pollard and Devon Thomas with successive balls and when Sammy and Davendra Bishoo fell to Saeed Ajmal (2-18) in a hurry, West Indies were in tatters at 71-8.
They limped past their lowest ever World Cup total of 93, managed against Kenya back in 1996, thanks to a 40-run stand for the ninth wicket.
No.10 Kemar Roach provided stubborn support alongside Chanderpaul until he could resist no longer, though his attempt to attack Abdul Razzaq only resulted in him chipping a simple catch to Younis Khan at midwicket.
Fittingly, Afridi wrapped up the innings by bowling Ravi Rampaul for a duck, further extending his lead as the tournament’s top wicket-taker.
West Indies simply had no answer to spin; they managed to last just 43.3 overs and failed to even get the chance to utilise their batting powerplay.

Pakistan should expect a much sterner challenge in the last four, when they will face either co-hosts India or reigning champions Australia or Mohali.

Source + Pic: skysports.com