ICC World Twenty20, Highlights: West Indies destroy Pakistan by 84 runs, will face Sri Lanka in semis

Defending champions West Indies destroy Pakistan in a comprehensive performance. Here are the highlights of the match: (Scorecard | Text Commentary | Points Table)

2218 hrs (IST): So it is West Indies vs Sri Lanka in the 1st semi on Thursday. India will take on South Africa in the second semi on Friday.

 

2212 hrs (IST): Darren Sammy comes out gleaming in the post-match ceremony. "West Indies were very determined today. It feels great to enter semis," he says. "There is some room for improvement but we are going to enjoy this for now."

 

2210 hrs (IST): Mohammad Hafeez is clearly disappointed wit how his team batted. "We wanted to bat first but I thought we bowled well initially," he says. "I think we panicked and lost momentum when wickets felt early." Hafeez is also apologetic to Pakistan fans. "The support we have got has been wonderful but I would like to say sorry to our fans. This is part of the game and we hope to come out stronger. All the best to the semifinalists. They deserve to be there," he says.

 

2204 hrs (IST) Bravo is Man-of-the-Match for his 46 off 26. "I would have shared this award with Narine and Badree," he says at the post-match ceremony.

 

2158 hrs (IST): And it's all over here. Defending champions West Indies storm into semis and will now face Sri Lanka. Pakistan, on the other hand, fail to advance to semis for the first time in the history of ICC World Twenty20.

 

2152 hrs (IST): WICKET! It's all about going through the motions as Pak batsmen look like they have given up. And quite obviously so. Russell removes Ajmal.

 

2143 hrs (IST): WICKETS! Narine claims two in same over to leave Pakistan in absolute shambles.

 

2136 hrs (IST): Afridi remains the only hope for Pakistan. He has Tanvir for company. Conservative estimates suggest match has definitely slipped out of Pakistan's grasp but 'Boom Boom' still looms!

 

2130 hrs (IST): WICKET! Maqsood (18) decides to charge Narine but regrets it immediately. Ramdin has his third stumping of the day while the spinner claims his first.

 

2127 hrs (IST): WICKET! Skipper Hafeez falls to Andre Russell. He looks to hit a boundary over extra cover but finds Gayle who makes no mistake. Pak: 37/5.

 

2123 hrs (IST): Pakistan need 132 in the last 10 overs vs West Indies!

 

2120 hrs (IST): Sunil Narine introduced as the fifth bowler! On a track that is assisting spin, having him come on now is a luxury for WI.

 

2112 hrs (IST): Pakistan are 28/4 after 8. Shahid Afridi is still in the dug-out and appears anxious to come out. Windies meanwhile bring on Andre Russell as Badree finishes his full quota of overs (3/10).

 

2106 hrs (IST): WICKET! Shoaib Malik falls and it's Samuel Badree once again! The batsman steps out to greet him but the spinner was expecting it. Bowls outside off and gets Malik stumped on 2. Pak: 13/4.

 

2104 hrs (IST): AFTER 5 OVERS - West Indies were 32/2. Pakistan in more trouble and are 11/3.

 

2100 hrs (IST): WICKET! Umar Akmal fails to read a googly from Badree. Steps out, misses the ball completely and is stumped. Pakistan 9/3 in 4.

 

2048 hrs (IST): WICKET! Kamran Akmal makes his way back without opening his account as Samuel Badree gets into the action. The batsman was looking to clear the man at extra cover but it was Dwayne Bravo there who looked like he just wanted an excuse to break into a dance. Pak 1/2 in 1.3 as West Indies celebrate in their usual calypso style.

 

2044 (IST): WICKET OFF THE FIRST DELIVERY! Santokie gets the ball to swing late and it crashes on Shehzad's toe who is declared LBW!

 

2030 hrs (IST): West Indies stage a remarkable comeback to finish innings on 166/6 vs Pakistan. A mammoth 82 runs were hit in the final 5 overs with Bravo (46 off 26) and Sammy (42* off 20) destroying Pakistan's good-work.

 

2026 hrs (IST): WICKET! Bravo falls to a tragic run-out. He scores 46.

 

2025 hrs (IST)2021 hrs (IST): Brilliant hitting from the two batsmen as Ajmal is taken apart. The West Indies' batsmen are making no real distinction between pace and spin.

 

2016 hrs (IST): Dwayne Bravo vs Umar Gul! And the batsman wins this duel with two massive sixes in the 18th over Follows it all up with a meaty four.

 

2010 hrs (IST): Darren Sammy (17) and Dwayne Smith (13) look for final push to take West Indies' total to some respectable figure. Currently 107/5 in 17.

 

2003 hrs (IST): For all the troubles that West Indies batsmen have been subjected to by the Pakistanis, there is the pitch too! There is clearly turn here and if Windies post even a reasonable total, Pak batsmen may struggle as well.

 

1956 hrs (IST): WICKET! That's half the side now. Denesh Ramdin (5) tries to take thew aerial route against Zulfiqar but mis-times it. (WI: 81/5, 13.5)

 

1945 hrs (IST): WICKETS! Lendl Simmons and Marlon Samules fall in the same over. While Simmons is run-out by Umar Gul, tragically cutting his fluent innings short, Samuels bottom-edges Afridi to find the lights on his stumps lit. ( WI: 69/4, 11)

 

1935 hrs (IST): Simmons seems to be eyeing a big score for himself. Completes West Indies' fifty (in 7.5 overs) with a massive six off Umar Gul.

 

1927 hrs (IST): Two wickets have fallen but no real shortage of powerful shots. Marlon Samuels joins the fun and smashes Tanvir for a crackling boundary through covers. Shahid Afridi screams "koi baat nahi!" (Doesn't matter) and casually walks in to the bowl the seventh over. WI: 39/2.

 

1921 hrs (IST): Simmons has shown he is not interested in allowing Pakistan to intimidate him. Smashes spinner Zulfiqar for a massive six and a four to propel his side. (WI: 32/2, 5 overs)

 

1917 hrs (IST): WICKET! And that's the end of Dwayne Smith (8 off 13). He edges Tanvir - almost as if he was in the nets giving practice catches to Akmal. (WI: 22/2, 3.5)

 

1914 hrs (IST): Did you know? Chris Gayle in his last three T20Is against Pakistan (5, 1 and 5) has always fell to Hafeez!

 

1910 hrs (IST): WICKET! And it is the biggest one, perhaps. Chris Gayle (5 off 4) has been stumped off Hafeez's bowling. Gayle had no clue as the ball spun away from his blade. Wicketkeeper Kamran Akmal made no mistake as Gayle was caught short.

 

1908 hrs (IST): Both openers have now hit a four each. Chris Gayle's casual flick off Sohail Tanvir escapes the fielder inside the circle to rush into the advertisements through fine-leg. (WI: 10/0, 2)

 

1903 hrs (IST): Fearless West Indies make intentions clear. Dwayne Smith smashes Mohammad Hafeez for a boundary through long on. West Indies take four off the 1st over.

 

1855 hrs (IST):Did you know? The last time the two teams played each other in ICC World Twenty20, West Indies scored 152 and Pakistan scraped to a win off the last delivery.

 

1850 hrs (IST): Pakistan have made it to the semis of every edition of ICC World Twenty20. Hafeez is banking on his spinners - which also includes him - to pave the way for another berth in the semis.

 

1845 hrs (IST): Did you know? Pakistan camp has been apprehensive that Saqlain Mushtaq has been helping Windies' spinners. Read more here.

 

1835 hrs (IST): It is clear that both sides have put emphasis on spin. Sammy and Hafeez feel that it is about the conditions and agree at toss that they are banking on their slower bowlers to make a big impact. "We hope to score big and put pressure on Pakistan when they come out to bat," said Sammy. Hafeez though remained confident despite losing the toss. "We will look to restrict their scoring. Batting second should not be a big problem for us," he said.

 

1830 hrs (IST): TOSS! West Indies' skipper Darren Sammy wins it and his side will bat first against Pakistan. Both teams remain unchanged.

 

Preview

It will be a battle between two world-class off-spinners as defending champions West Indies meet Pakistan in a 'Do-or-Die' final group league encounter of the ICC World Twenty20 today.

Both teams are on four points each and it will be a virtual quarter-final clash to decide on the second semi-finalist from Group 2 after India emerged group champions with an all-win record.

The match is being billed as a battle between the mystery spinners with West Indies banking heavily on Sunil Narine while Pakistan's hopes will be pinned on Saeed Ajmal.

"The team that plays spinners well will win the match. We know that it is a match where we can't make a mistake," Pakistan captain Mohammed Hafeez said on the eve of their clash against Darren Sammy's West Indies. (Read more)

Saqlain Mushtaq's presence in Windies camp gives jitters to Pakistan

The presence of former Pakistan spinner, Saqlain Mushtaq in the West Indies camp has made the Pakistan management and players uneasy ahead of a clash between the two teams in the ICC World T20 which is expected to decide the semifinals line up.

Saqlain, 37, who took 208 Test and 288 one-day wickets for Pakistan has been working with the West Indies board as spin consultant and is with the West Indies team in Bangladesh. His role has so far got praise from West Indian spinners, Samuel Badree and Sunil Narine.

"To be honest, Saqi has been a wonderfully calming influence on the team. He is one who does not get worked up or anxious over any situation. He does not panic at all and has a calming influence on us," Badree said ahead of the match against Australia that his team won on Friday.

Sources in the Pakistan team said that having played with Saqlain for a long time, head coach, Moin Khan was aware the influence the former off-spinner could have on the coming match.

"Moin has been advising his players to pay a lot of respect to the West Indian spinners because of Saqlain's presence and has pointed out that with conditions helping slow bowlers in Bangladesh they must be well prepared for the coming match," one source told PTI. (Read more)

If ICC has no problem with the 'doosra', we should appreciate it: Saqlain Mushtaq

Saqlain Mushtaq, the pioneer of the 'doosra', is immensely proud that the delivery will always be associated with his name and also want people to stop questioning its legality as ICC never had any problems with it.

"I always feel proud when somebody bowls a doosra or a carrom ball. If any new variation is coming into world of cricket, I feel good about it. This is ICC's duty to look (into the legality) and if they are saying everything is good, then we should appreciate that," Saqlain, now working as spin consultant with the West Indies team told during a media interaction here on Monday. (Read more)

Teams

West Indies: Darren Sammy (captain), Chris Gayle, Dwayne Smith, Lendl Simons, Marlon Samuels, Dwayne Bravo, Sunil Narine, Samuel Badree, Krishmar Santokie, Sheldon Cotterell, Andre Fletcher, Andre Russell, Denesh Ramdin, Johnson Charles, Ravi Rampaul

Pakistan: Mohammed Hafeez (captain), Kamran Akmal, Umar Akmal, Ahmed Shehzad, Shoaib Malik, Shahid Afridi, Saeed Ajmal, Zulfiqar Babar, Bilawal Bhatti, Sharjeel Khan, Sohaib Maqsood, Junaid Khan, Sohail Tanveer, Mohammed Talha, Umar Gul.