Pakistan ride fightback to win series
The Bulletin by Siddarth Ravindran
November 14, 2008
Pakistan 232 (Misbah 52, Taylor 3-38, Powell 3-50) beat West Indies 208 (Chanderpaul 107*, Gul 3-44 ) by 24 runs
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
How they were out
Unlike the manic fireworks of the first game, Friday was more of a slow-burning scrap. Pakistan were, once again, second-best at the halfway stage but survived a tight finish to win the match and seal the series. Like in the first match, there was a dogged century from a senior West Indies batsman - Shivnarine Chanderpaul this time - but there wasn't enough support from the rest.
Sohail Tanvir's menacing opening spell helped Pakistan fight back after a disciplined West Indies bowling had kept them down to a less-than-average total. He was the star performer but each member of the Pakistan attack played his part: Umar Gul hounded the batsmen with a mix of bouncers and yorkers, Iftikhar Anjum kept probing away just outside off stump and was unlucky to not get more than one wicket, Shahid Afridi provided the crucial breakthrough by removing Ramnaresh Sarwan, and Saeed Ajmal confounded West Indies with his doosras.
Full report to follow
25 overs West Indies 87 for 2 (Sarwan 37*, Chanderpaul 36*) need another 146 runs to win against Pakistan 232 (Misbah 52, Taylor 3-38, Powell 3-50)
Live scorecard and ball-by-ball details
How they were out
Unlike the first one-dayer which was full of manic fireworks, the second one was more of a slow-burning scrap. A menacing spell of swing bowling from Sohail Tanvir rattled the West Indies top order and what was expected to be straightforward chase turned into an intriguing tussle between bat and ball.
Tanvir had the ball jagging around viciously in the first over and danger man Chris Gayle struggled to pick which way the ball was moving. He lasted only six balls, as the final delivery of Tanvir's first over, an overpitched inswinger, homed in on leg stump. The other opener, Sewnarine Chattergoon, was also dismissed for a duck, nibbling an away-going ball to the keeper.
That brought together West Indies' senior players, Ramnaresh Sarwan and Shivnarine Chanderpaul, both of whom were harried by Tanvir. Several of Sarwan's attempted drives resulted in thick outside edges while Chanderpaul was bothered by the incoming delivery. Their lives were made easier by Umar Gul, who repeatedly pitched the ball short and was unable to extract the swing his new-ball partner did.
Iftikhar Anjum followed up Tanvir's good work by maintaining a probing line outside off, and was unlucky to not have dismissed Chanderpaul. He had Chanderpaul french-cutting once, and in the 18th over, a skier was shelled by Saeed Ajmal running back from mid-on.
A huge crowd, estimated at 18,000, had turned up and if they wanted to see the big hits, they were sorely disappointed. After Pakistan's go-slow, West Indies had managed only four boundaries by the halfway stage.
West Indies were made to scrounge for every run and the asking-rate steadily inched towards six. Their troubles were compounded by the slow outfield and long boundaries, as the ropes had been pulled back for the match.
50 overs Pakistan 232 (Misbah 52, Taylor 3-38, Powell 3-50) v West Indies
Live scorecard and ball-by-ball details
How they were out
Daren Powell took three wickets, effected a run-out and claimed a catch to help restrict Pakistan © AFP
A disciplined West Indian attack rarely allowed Pakistan to get out of first gear and restricted them to 232 in the second one-dayer in Abu Dhabi. The quick bowlers exploited the swing available early to put Pakistan on the back foot, while the spinners, who were solid rather than spectacular, didn't offer the batsmen much to work with.
Chris Gayle said at the toss that he would have preferred to bat first but his new-ball bowlers provided him with the ideal start. Both of Pakistan's openers were undone while attempting reckless across-the-line shots: Salman Butt getting the leading edge to offer a return catch to Jerome Taylor, and four balls later Khurram Manzoor having his off stump knocked out after failing to cover for the away movement from Daren Powell.
The big holiday crowd that had turned up was silenced but found its voice soon after when Younis Khan took Powell for three consecutive boundaries. That, however, was an aberration in a quiet period for Pakistan with Younis taking most of the strike and making a majority of the runs in a stabilising partnership with Misbah-ul-Haq.
Lionel Baker, coming on first change, followed up his impressive debut with a steady line-and-length spell and in tandem with Powell, who kept it full, tied the batsmen down. Younis was trying to get a move on when a full, swinging delivery from Powell cleaned him.
There were only five boundaries in the first 15 overs and Younis' dismissal slowed Pakistan further. The spinners bowled a tight wicket-to-wicket line and were backed up by some athletic fielding, with just 11 runs coming off the next five as Shoaib Malik took his time to settle down. However, Malik's stay at the crease was soon ended when a misunderstanding with Misbah had him scrambling back and an accurate throw from Powell caught him short.
After those two big wickets, a lot depended on Misbah. He scrapped his way to a half-century, an innings in which he rarely looked fluent. He struggled to inject the momentum the Pakistan innings needed and perished when his attempt to clear the long-off boundary off Nikita Miller ended up in a simple catch for Powell.
Kamran Akmal, Pakistan's hero in the first match, played a calm, polished innings to lift his side, but the run-rate continued to flounder even with the belligerent Shahid Afridi at the crease. There had been no boundaries in 132 balls and it was not until the introduction of the friendly part-time gifts from Ramnaresh Sarwan in the 38th over that the shackles were released.
"Afridi, please don't disappoint today" said a poster held up by a young fan, and, for a brief while, he didn't. Afridi crunched Sarwan down the ground for a four before dispatching a leg-side full toss over midwicket. The Afridi-Akmal partnership had realised 50 runs, and Pakistan were beginning to find their feet, but they made a mistake by not taking the remaining Powerplay when their last two recognised batsmen were looking settled.
They were soon in trouble when Baker bowled Akmal in the 41st over. Three balls later, Afridi fished at a Taylor delivery, nicking it to wicketkeeper Carlton Baugh and the final Powerplay was left to the tailenders. Taylor used the bouncer and slower ball intelligently at the start of his second spell, but struggled against Sohail Tanvir, who slammed three fours off an over before being run out. There was some hitting from the last pair as well but this remains a score West Indies will fancy chasing down to level the series.
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