Pakistan ease past W-indies to win the series!

KARACHI: West Indies set 239 runs victory target for Pakistan in the last one- dayer of the series at National Stadium here on Saturday.
Shivnarine Chanderpaul groundout only his fourth hundred in 205 one-day internationals to guide West Indies to a respectable 238 for seven in the fifth and final game of the series against Pakistan.
The experienced left-hander played a workmanlike innings of101 to ensure the tourists remained in the match after seamer Rana Naved continued his splendid form to finish with figures of four for 43.
It was Chanderpaul's first one-day hundred since 2002 when he made 108 against New Zealand at Gros Islet.

Pakistan lead the five-match series 2-1 after the first game in Rawalpindi was washed out. The home side won the next two games in Faisalabad and Lahore and West Indies came back in the last match in Multan.

Chanderpaul opened the innings and shared partnerships of 51 with Marlon Samuels (22) and 96 with captain Brian Lara (44) after Chris Gayle fell cheaply once again to Naved. Gayle, player of the tournament in the Champions Trophy in India, made a top score of 41 in the series, falling four times to Naved who again trapped him lbw for seven after Pakistan won the toss.

Naved came back for a damaging final spell in the last10 overs to bowl Lara and break his threatening 108-ball stand with Chanderpaul. Naved also got Chanderpaul, having him caught by Yasir Hameed at deep mid-wicket in the 48th over soon after he completed his ton.

Naved's fourth victim was Dwayne Smith, trapped leg before for one as the tourists lost four wickets for 22 runs.

Chanderpaul picked the gaps intelligently as he hit eight fours in his 142-ball innings. Lara, in contrast, was in sketchy form, facing 55 balls and hitting just three fours before falling in the 44th over.

Lendl Simmons was bowled by Mohammad Sami for 21 and Samuels was stumped by Kamran Akmal off left-arm spinner Abdul Rehman.

Pakistan made four changes to their side with captain Inzamam-ul-Haq, Mohammad Yousuf, Umar Gul and Rehman returning. West Indies replaced Ian Bradshaw with Corey Collymore.

Pakistan started the Innings with Karman Akmal and Muhammad Hafeez.Both of them played really well.Hafeez made 92 while Karman Akmal scored 56 runs.Third batsmen who got out was Yasir Hameed who got out after scoring 40 runs.while,Abdul Razzaq and Shoaib malik remained not out at the crease!
Man of the match and Man of the series award was presented to Rana Naveed-ul-Hassan.Can you guess who got the best fielder of the series award???I myself can't believe,"Inzamam" got the best fielder award.Most valuable player of the series award was given to Muhammad Yousuf!
Pakistan is having next series with SA.and we hope that they will repeat the same performance there!

Afridi’s selection uncertain for final ODI

KARACHI: The fate of Shahid Afridi hangs in the balance ahead of the fifth and final one-dayer against the West Indies here at the National Stadium tomorrow.
Given a lifeline in the fourth One-day International (ODI) in Multan, Afridi flopped again with the bat and is now doubtful for the Karachi game.
The playing eleven for Karachi’s match would be finalised by the team management and chief selector Wasim Bari this evening and it remains to be seen whether Afridi manages to get another chance following the return of Inzamam-ul-Haq and Mohammad Yousuf.
“We are keeping our options open,” said a non-committal Bari. “Afridi has been struggling to get some runs and once again failed to impress so lets see what the coach and captain (of the Pakistan team) have to say about him,” he added.
Pakistan coach Bob Woolmer, captain Inzamam-ul-Haq and Bari will sit down this evening to decide the line-up for the final one-dayer and will have to take some tough decisions.
At least two players who featured in a seven-wicket defeat in Multan on Wednesday will have to sit out to make way for Inzamam and Mohammad Yousuf.
“Yousuf has informed us about his availability for the Karachi match while Inzamam is also fit and I believe he will play too,” said Bari who pointed out that picking an eleven would be a tricky task.
Comeback batsman Yasir Hameed found instant form in Multan and was Pakistan’s top scorer. Middle order batsman Faisal Iqbal, coming in for the injured Inzamam, also played sensibly.
“Yasir played really well while Faisal did a good job considering the fact that he batted during a difficult phase. Mohammad Sami also bowled pretty well,” said Bari. Sami came in for in-form medium pacer Umar Gul who was rested for the Multan match.
Gul is expected to return for the Karachi game while the team’s think tank will also have to consider rookie left-arm spinner Abdul Rehman. He did a great job in Faisalabad and Lahore but was rested in Multan to make room for Afridi.

Woolmer confident of ODI series triumph

KARACHI: Pakistan coach Bob Woolmer is expecting his team to push for a series-winning triumph in the final one-dayer against the West Indies here at the National Stadium tomorrow following the return of master batsmen Inzamam-ul-Haq and Mohammad Yousuf.
“It is always great to win a series and I believe we are in a good position to do so on Saturday when some of our leading batsmen will be back in the side,” Woolmer told ‘The News’ in an interview here on Thursday.
The home team leads the five-match One-day International (ODI) series 2-1 in spite of a seven-wicket defeat against the West Indies in the previous game held in Multan on Wednesday.
In Multan, Pakistan were without their big three - Inzamam, Yousuf and Younis Khan - and failed to counter the resurging tourists with makeshift captain Abdul Razzaq in command.
Younis, who missed the one-dayers in Lahore and Multan, will also stay away from the Karachi game as he has decided to stay back with his family in Mardan because of the death of his brother last week.
Inzamam and Yousuf, however, are set to return to the Pakistan line-up and Woolmer said it was great news for him.
“It is difficult to do well if you take out Inzamam, Yousuf and Younis from the equation, all of them at the same time,” said Woolmer.
“It is great to have at least two of them back for the match in Karachi and they are going to make a big difference,” said the coach.
Inzamam missed the last match because of a finger injury while Yousuf had stayed back in Lahore to be with his wife. Woolmer said that the return of Inzamam and Yousuf has strengthened his team but made it clear that West Indies would be a tough side to beat in the day-night game.
“West Indies won the previous game in Multan and that result must have given them a lot of confidence. Such a mood can make a team quite dangerous,” he said.
The national team management was criticised by some experts for what they believed was some unnecessary experimentation in the Multan match but Woolmer disagreed.
“We tried to use the previous match for some experimentation in the absence of some of our top players and it was a calculated move,” he said pointing out that Pakistan are currently in the process of finalising their World Cup squad.
Pakistan recalled under-performing dynamo Shahid Afridi for the Multan match and opted to open the innings with him. The move flopped and ignited a scathing attack from former Pakistan captain Imran Khan, who said Pakistan should have gone for the regular opening pair of Imran Farhat and Mohammad Hafeez and fielded the big-hitting Afridi down the order.
But Woolmer said that the team management had their reasons for the decision. “With our top batsmen not available we thought Hafeez could do well in the middle order. We also wanted to give Afridi ample batting opportunity,” he explained.
Woolmer said that he was happy to be back in Karachi, a city which he likes for the superb atmosphere at the National Stadium. “It is great to be back in Karachi to finish this series. I am looking forward to a great crowd in Saturday’s match,” he expressed.
Pakistan wrapped up the Test series against the West Indies 2-0 by winning the third and final Test in Karachi earlier this month.

Samuels leads West Indies win!

Fourth one-day international, Multan: West Indies 212-3 (34.5 overs) beat Pakistan 209 (49.5 overs) by seven wickets.
Scorecard
Marlon Samuels repaid the faith of the West Indies selectors with his second one-day century as they beat Pakistan by seven wickets in Multan.

The Jamaican struck a six and 17 fours in his 100 not out off 99 balls as they reached 212-3 with 15 overs to spare.

Pace bowler Daren Powell claimed 3-33 as Pakistan were bowled out for 209.

And the result was never in doubt after Samuels and Shivnarine Chanderpaul (60) put on 141, but Pakistan still lead the series 2-1 with one game to go.

Samuels was on 62 when Chanderpaul was caught at deep fine leg off Mohammad Sami but skipper Brian Lara allowed him the majority of the strike and he duly reached his hundred with successive fours off Abdul Razzaq.

His only previous century came four years ago against India at Vijaywada and he had not passed 50 in a one-day innings since 2003.

Once the celebrations were over, Lara asserted himself in the next over with a six and a four off Rao Iftikhar Anjum to finish things off.

"Today's effort was exceptional...I am proud of the performance of my team," said Lara.

Both sides were without key players and Pakistan had to rely on Razzaq as their fourth-choice captain because Inzamam-ul-Haq, Younis Khan and Mohammad Yousuf were all unavailable. They also rested chief strike bowler Umar Gul.




West Indies, meanwhile, made three changes to the side beaten in Lahore last Sunday in the hope of keeping the series alive ahead of their final tour game in Karachi, bringing in Powell, Chanderpaul and spinner Dave Mohammed.

They made an excellent start as Powell knocked back Shahid Afridi's off stump as he played across the line and then tempted Imran Farhat (13) into giving a catch to gully.
The exciting Shahid Afridi lasted only six deliveries.

All-rounder Dwayne Smith then had Mohammad Hafeez caught at second slip and trapped Shoaib Malik lbw for a duck with an inswinger to leave Pakistan in disarray at 47-4.

Yasir Hameed repaired the damage with the help of Faisal Iqbal (30) and Razzaq (33) before he was caught off Mohammed's left-arm wrist spin for 71 in the 41st over.

There was a late flurry from Rana Naved, who made 18 off 13 balls, but Pakistan's total did not look enough providing West Indies made a reasonable start in reply.

In fact, they failed to do so because Naved bowled Chris Gayle for nine and accounted for Lendl Simmons lbw with the next ball in his opening over.

But no-one else could match that penetration and Iftikhar and Razzaq, in particular, came in for some rough treatment from Samuels, whose straight driving and leg-side strokes were a feature of his innings.

Razzaq conceded 51 from six overs and Iftikhar's figures were even worse, 0-56 from 5.5 overs, as Samuels and Lara wrapped up the win.

"We didn't put enough runs on the board and Samuels later took the match away from us with some extraordinary hitting," Razzaq commented.

Shahid Afridi recalled!

A spate of absences for Pakistan's fourth ODI in Multan has resulted in a recall for Shahid Afridi. Pakistan will be without Mohammad Yousuf, who will stay in Lahore to be with his wife, and Younis Khan, whose brother recently passed away. The third component of their impressive middle order, captain Inzamam-ul-Haq, is also a doubt for the game after injuring his hand during the third ODI at Lahore.

Afridi was dropped after the Champions Trophy, the first time in two years for anything other than an injury or suspension. But he has struck a rich vein of form in domestic cricket for Habib Bank and lies third in the bowling averages after five games with 22 wickets at an average of under ten. And despite starting poorly with the bat, he has just hit a 91-ball hundred in the ongoing game against WAPDA, whose attack includes Mushtaq Ahmed and Shabbir Ahmed. He scored a fifty in a low-scoring first-innings total and also picked up three wickets.

Faisal Iqbal, the middle-order batsman, has also been called up as cover for Inzamam who injured the little finger of his left hand when he dived at cover to stop a full-blooded aerial drive from Marlon Samuels during the third match at Lahore and received three stitches.

"Inzamam is recovering from his injury and as a precaution we have included Iqbal in the 15-man squad in case we need him in batting," Wasim Bari, Pakistan's chief selector, told reporters.

Iqbal, 24, has played 17 Tests and ODIs for Pakistan, with a hundred in each form of the game. Though he last played a Test against England this summer - he hit an unbeaten 58 in Pakistan's only innings of the controversial Oval Test - he has not featured in ODI colours since October 2003.

Bari added that Younis Khan, Pakistan's vice-captain, would miss another match but might feature in the fifth match to be played on December 16 at Karachi. The potential absence of the trio means Pakistan will have to announce a new captain for the fourth ODI as well. Younis is the official vice-captain and Yousuf has taken over on the odd occasion, but with none available, it is thought Abdul Razzaq might be chosen. A final decision is expected tomorrow.

I personally feel that it would be a good test for the rest of the players,Pakistan cricket fans and officials will be able to know that if there team can play without Inzi,Yousuf and Younis.Are the other players able to tackle the pressure? Besides that, the match will give a lot of maturity to the younger players like Imran Farhat and Muhammad Hafeez and they might learn to tacke the pressure more effectively!This will also be a Good chance for Afridi and Faisal Iqbal to prove there talent and ability to the selectors.The match must have been under keen look and observation of the selectors!

Pakistan lead the five-match series 2-0 after the first match was washed out due to rain at Rawalpindi.

Pakistan beat WI by 7 wickets under D/l method

LAHORE: In its third one-dayer against West Indies, Pakistan won its match by seven wickets under the Duckworth-Lewis scoring method here in at the Gadaffi Stadium on Sunday.

Earlier, the match was initially halted due to murky conditions and the umpires declared the innings closed when the floodlights could not be switched on due to a malfunction.

Under International Cricket Council (ICC) playing conditions, the umpires revised the target for the home side under the Duckworth-Lewis scoring method to 191 runs in 35 overs.

After West Indies played, Pakistan was given 191-run target to win third one-dayer against the West Indies in 35 overs, which Pakistan achieved in 33.4 overs.

Earlier, West Indies scored 207-7 in 46.3 overs when the floodlights went off.

The match resumed with Pakistan chasing a revised target of 191 from 35 overs and got there with eight balls left.

Imran Farhat hit 58 before Mohammad Yousuf and Shoaib Malik shared an unbroken stand of 44 in eight overs.

After Pakistan opted to bowl first, Naveed gained some movement in a strong opening spell, dismissing West Indies captain Brian Lara first ball and Chris Gayle for 41.

Twenty-one-year-old Simmons, nephew of former West Indies great Phil, batted at three.

He faced 130 balls with seven fours but none of his more experienced team-mates could give the necessary support.

West Indies were again without veteran batsman Shivnarine Chanderpaul, who was struggling with an injury to his left knee.

The home team were missing vice-captain Younis Khan, whose brother has died, but Yousuf returned after missing the last match for family reasons and hit a brisk 28 not out.

Pakistan captain Inzamam-ul-Haq left the field in the 14th over of the West Indies innings after hurting his finger trying to stop a shot from Marlon Samuels.

Officials said he would only bat if necessary after receiving two stitches but he was not required to take the crease.