Pakistan defeated West Indies by an impressive margin of seven wickets in the second One Day International match between the two countries, played in St Lucia, on April 25, 2011.
As a result, the visitors now have a formidable 2-0 lead in the five-match series and look set to build on the advantage, considering the lack of quality in the West Indian ranks.
Both teams have opted to test their young guns in this series, which is a positive sign for both countries as some new players have performed well in the first two matches.
Men in Green bowled well once again in the second match and did not give anything away to the Caribbean batsmen. Afridi is continuing on his strategy to rely heavily on spinners, a plan which has worked very well for the team until now.
Spin trio of Saeed Ajmal, Shahid Afridi and Mohammad Hafeez tied down the home team’s batsmen once again and shared six wickets between them in the second ODI. Such is the strength of Pakistan’s spin bowling, that left-arm spinner Abdur Rehman is not able to break into the playing eleven.
Junaid Khan has failed to pick up a wicket in the series so far, but he bowled an impressive spell with the new ball and was hitting his mark from the very first ball. He is very much similar to Mohammad Amir in his approach and looks to be an exciting prospect for Pakistan cricket.
Another positive for Pakistan was Ahmed Shehzad’s return to form, as he scored a slow century but made sure his side does not face any kind of a collapse in the run-chase. He is an exciting young prospect for the team and analysts expect him to take on the batting line-up’s burden, along with Umar Akmal and Asad Shafiq.
West Indies, on the other hand, would be happy with the performance of some of their younger players like Devendra Bishoo and Lendl Simmons. Despite the inclusion of young blood, the Board might have to reconsider their policy of dropping all senior batsmen at once.
Dropping the likes of Chris Gayle and Ramnaresh Sarwan, might not be the right tactic to adopt, as the West Indies Cricket Board should make best use of their experience and class.
Caribbean cricket fans would be hoping that their premier pacemen Jerome Taylor and Fidel Edwards get fit soon, as their team is desperately looking for bowlers who can take wickets at regular intervals. Apart from Bishoo, no West Indian bowler has been able to make an impression in the series so far.
It would take a huge effort from this West Indian team to dismantle Pakistan in the ODI series, as the visitors look all set to win this series with a comprehensive margin.
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