LONDON, CMC – West Indies made heavy weather of a paltry target but held their nerve in the end to beat Pakistan by two wickets and make a winning start to their ICC Champion Trophy campaign here yesterday.
Chasing 171 for victory at a sun-bathed Oval, West Indies crashed from a comfortable position of 78 for two in the 17th over, to 143 for seven in the 37th, before recovering to reach their target with just over nine overs remaining.
Tail-ender Kemar Roach (five not out) sealed victory with a square-driven boundary in the 41st over.
Left-handed opener Chris Gayle top scored with 39 while Marlon Samuels and Kieron Pollard both got 30, but it was a crucial 22-run, eighth wicket partnership between vice-captain Denesh Ramdin (11 not out) and Sunil Narine (11), that put the Caribbean side within touch of victory.
Left-arm seamer Mohammed Irfan was the best Pakistan bowler with three for 32 from his nine overs while off-spinner Saeed Ajmal (2-38) and left-arm pacer Wahab Riaz (2-42) picked up two wickets apiece.
Earlier, Pakistan were propped up by captain Misbah-ul-Haq’s unbeaten 96, as they laboured to 170 all out off 48 overs after being sent in.
They were tottering at 15 for three in the seventh over after Man-of-the-match Roach, who finished with three for 28 from ten overs, produced an incisive burst to rock the innings.
Opener Nasir Jamshed chipped in with 50 but mystery off-spinner Sunil Narine, with three for 34 from his ten overs, kept the brakes on Pakistan’s scoring and ensured there was no major recovery.
Roach struck with the last delivery of the day’s first over when captain Dwayne Bravo dived in front first slip to snap up left-hander Imran Farhat for two, with as many runs on the board.
The right-arm speedster then bowled Mohammed Hafeez off his pads for four with the score on 14 in the fifth over and completed his rout by having Asad Shafiq caught at third man by Ravi Rampaul without scoring, with only a run added.
Pakistan, however, rebounded through Misbah and Nasir Jamshed who put on 90 for the fourth wicket to steady the innings. Misbah faced 127 balls, struck five fours and three sixes while Nasir counted five fours off 95 deliveries.
The right-handed Misbah survived a torrid time up front from Roach, overcoming an lbw review and then a dropped catch by wicketkeeper Ramdin before he had scored, to unveil a defiant innings.
Nasir reached his half-century with a single to deep point off off-spinner Marlon Samuels but lasted just two more deliveries before holing out to Rampaul at long off in the next over by Narine.
When Narine prised out Shoaib Malik three balls later without scoring, it triggered a slide where Pakistan lost six wickets for 33 runs, to plummet to 138 for nine in the 41st over.
Irfan then stayed with Misbah in a crucial 32-run last wicket stand, to give their side a fighting chance, before striking twice early in the Windies reply, to put Pakistan on top.
The 31-year-old had Johnson Charles caught at fine leg for nine, hooking at a short one in the third over before removing Darren Bravo without scoring after the left-hander edged a lifter behind.
Struggling at 15 for two, West Indies were lifted by Gayle and Samuels who added 63 for the third wicket.
The left-handed Gayle faced 47 balls and hit four fours and a six – a straight hit off Irfan – while Samuels cracked three fours off 57 balls.
Both were looking relatively untroubled when Gayle missed a doosra from Ajmal and lost his middle stump in the 17th over and Ramnaresh Sarwan lasted just two deliveries before edging a lifter from Wahab behind for one.
When Samuels was deceived in flight by Hafeez and stumped in the 26th over, the Windies were up against it at 94 for five.
Pollard and Dwayne Bravo, who made 19, attempted the first repair job by putting on 43 or the sixth wicket, to once again leave the contest an open affair.
The usually big-hitting Pollard curbed his aggression to hit three fours and a six in his 58-ball knock but with the momentum swinging the Windies way, edged a rising delivery from Wahab behind.
Bravo followed quickly in the next over before Ramdin and Narine saw the Windies to the brink of victory with cool heads.
