Pakistan victory at Lahore

Pakistan went two-nil up in their one-day series against the West Indies today, with a comfortable seven-wicket victory. The Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore witnessed a rain-affected match that left Pakistan with 191 runs to win from 35 overs, the West Indies’ total of 207 reduced by Duckworth-Lewis.

The match didn’t go the way of the West Indies right from the start: not even a ball was survived by the captain Brian Lara – he was trapped LBW by Naved-ul-Hasan. Chris Gayle, Lara’s opening partner, built a 52-run stand with Lendl Simmons before he was the victim of another LBW off Naved’s bowling, leaving Simmons at the crease with the West Indian number four – Marlon Samuels.

Having made just 13 runs, Samuels was the next to go, leaving the West Indies delicately poised on 72 for three, but the following partnership between Simmons and Ganga stabilised conditions slightly; when Abdur Rehman cleaned up the latter on 133 for four, the situation was still precarious for the West Indies – someone in the lower order would have to step in and take the fight to Pakistan’s bowlers.

However, only Dwayne Smith could contribute significantly to the batting team’s effort, adding 23, leaving Pakistan with a good scent of victory with careful batting and steady run-crafting.

As it turned out, Pakistan treated the West Indian attack with little care and moved along quickly early on. Imran Farhat scored an excellent 58 from 72 balls and Mohammad Hafeez, who opened the batting with him, knocked-up 31.

Unlike the West Indies, a flurry of wickets had not been taken early on, allowing Kamran Akmal, Pakistan’s wicketkeeper, and Mohammad Yousuf some freedom to attack. Neither batsman scored above thirty, but Akmal’s attacking approach gave Shoaib Malik and Yousuf the chance to guide Pakistan home, which they did with eight balls to spare.

West Indies 207-7
Lendl Simmons 70, Chris Gayle 41
Naved-ul-Hasan 3-37, Abdur Rehman 2-33

Pakistan won by 7 wickets

Pakistan 192-3
Imran Farhat 58, Mohammad Hafeez 31
Chris Gayle 2-32, Corey Collymore 1-23