Misbah-ul-Haq delighted with his performance: Pakistan vs. West Indies

Pakistan middle-order batsman, Misbah-ul-Haq was delighted to shoulder the huge burden of the liability in the Pakistan’s series-sealing triumph over the West Indies at Kensington Oval in Bridgetown, Barbados on Thursday.
Pakistan’s dependable right-hander made 62 runs and remained unbeaten athwart the visitor’s triumphant chase of 172 runs in the third One Day International (ODI), after a series of early wickets had left him to pick up the pieces.
Misbah came to the crease when Pakistan lost two early wickets, with just nine runs on the board, with Ahmed Shehzad and Asad Shafiq’s first-ball ducks. Misbah watched from the non-striker end as the Caribbean seamer Ravi Rampaul took four wickets for 32 runs and continued Pakistan’s decay with the wickets of Mohammad Hafeez who scored just five runs and Umar Akmal who made 30 runs.
At 49 runs for the loss of four wickets, the right-armer Rampaul was generating astounding bounce from the wicket. So Misbah, and middle to lower order, had a lot to do.
Hammad Azam, who was batting for the first time in the ODI series, scored a steady 36 runs and became a victim of Asoka de Silva’s ill decision. Misbah though, went on to pile up 78 runs and that's where the host’s leg-spinner, Devendra Bishoo, jolted the recovery work.
In quick succession, Bishoo took wickets of Azam, Shahid Afridi and the rookie wicketkeeper-batsman, Mohammad Salman, to somewhat rattle the opposition.
Pakistan's Mr. dependable Misbah, however, dug deeper and deeper with every ball and with an aggressive tail-ender in Wahab Riaz, eventually secured victory with 4.5 overs to spare.
"The wicket wasn't easy for us as there was bit more bounce and pace. I thought I had to bat until the end for us to win. The ball got softer as it got older, so I could handle it easily eventually," said Misbah, who fetched the Man of the Match award for his 109-delivery effort. "With the new ball, Rampaul bowled really well and kept us under pressure."
Pakistan now sporting a dominant three nil lead in the five-match series, and uncapped left-armer Sadaf Hussain and right-handed batsman Usman Salahuddin waiting in the wings, Captain Afridi suggested Pakistan might feature young players in the remaining two matches on Monday and Thursday.
"The way the boys delivered in the series was good. There are still some problems. The coaches will come hard in the meetings. We all know we made mistakes. We will now look to give chances to youngsters in the batting area and we have a medium-pacer or two to come in as well," concluded the triumphant skipper.

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MISBAH-UL-HAQ HELPS PAKISTAN CLINCH THE ODI SERIES IN THE WEST INDIES TOUR

The vice-captain, Misbah-ul-Haq’s, 62-run knock guided Pakistan to a three-wicket victory in the third One-Day International (ODI) against West Indies at the Keningston Oval Stadium in Bridgetown, Barbados, on Thursday, 28^th April.

While batting first, West Indies set a below par target of 171 runs in 43.4 overs. In response, the Green Shirts also took an unstable batting start, losing four wickets early in their innings in 11.4 overs.

Pakistan’s opener, Ahmed Shehzad, who scored a century in the second ODI, was sent back to the pavilion for a duck by Ravi Rampaul.

Asad Shafiq was the next batsman to go for a duck by Rampaul. He was caught by the Windies’ captain, Darren Sammy, off Rampaul’s ball.

Ravi was on his way to secure a hat-trick when Misbah stepped onto the crease with Mohammad Hafeez. The fall of their first two wickets in early succession put the Pakistani batsmen under immense pressure.

As a result, Hafeez also failed to stand on the wickets for long and was caught by Davendra Bishoo off Rampaul’s ball.

Following Hafeez, Umar Akmal joined Misbah on the crease while West Indies was completely dominating the match. However, both batsmen offered little resistance to Windies’ overriding bowling attack, safely playing the next eight overs.

Akmal, played a significant role in reducing pressure from his side by hitting five boundaries but failed to escape Ravi’s attacking bowling, getting caught by wicketkeeper, Lendl Simmons.

Nonetheless, Misbah steadily kept on scoring runs and did not provide any room to the Caribbean bowlers to derail his chase for the target.

Following Akmal, Hammad Azam was the next batsman to come on to the pitch to accompany the vice-captain. Hammad played a useful innings of 36 runs off 64 balls, including one four and one six, before he was trapped lbw by Bishoo.

The Men in Green were once again under pressure following Hammad’s dismissal. However, skipper, Shahid Afridi, still resembled a ray of hope for his team.

Unfortunately for Pakistan, Afridi also went back to the pavilion without adding any considerable runs, caught by Smith off Bishoo’s bowling.

At this point, the visitors were cruising along 143/6 and the team’s hopes were pinned to Misbah, standing firm on his wickets with determination of steering Pakistan to victory.

The vice-captain, along with pacer, Wahab Riaz, helped his side to clinch the series 3-0 with his brilliant unbeaten 62 runs, including four fours and one six.

Misbah was awarded man of the match while Riaz also remained unbeaten with his 17 runs that included two sixes.

Misbah has maintained a marvelous batting form throughout the series. In the first ODI, he scored an unbeaten 73 runs off 90 balls while in the second ODI, he again remained unbeaten, scoring 43 runs.

Pakistan will face West Indies on 2^nd May in the fourth ODI at the same venue.

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KEMAR ROACH DETERMINED TO PERFORM AGAINST PAKISTAN AT BARBADOS

West Indies pacer, Kemar Roach, hopes that Barbados’ seamer-friendly pitch will help him in giving a better performance in the must-win One-Day International (ODI) match against Pakistan, scheduled to be played on April 28.

West Indies is lagging behind the five-match ODI series by 0-2 against Pakistan. In the first two matches, Roach failed to grab even a single wicket in a total of 18.3 overs. However, he is determined to prove himself in home conditions.

"The pitch (at Beausejour) in St Lucia was a bit on the slow side and it was a bit flat. Kensington is usually somewhat faster and offers more to my type of bowling so I will be looking for better returns”, Roach commented.

In first ODI against Pakistan, Windies showed a poor bowling performance since none of their bowlers except Devendra Bishoo could break Pakistan’s strong partnerships.

The situation was similar in the second ODI in which the Windies, batting first, set a target of 221 runs for Pakistan. Their bowling attack failed to rip through the opponent’s strong batting line up again and consequently they were defeated in the second ODI by 7 wickets. Bishoo was once again the only bowler to claim two important Pakistani wickets, Mohammad Hafeez and Ahmed Shehzad.

Roach said that it is necessary to win this match to keep the series alive and to ensure a win, the Windies must put in all their efforts.

“It's always good to play at home in very familiar conditions. I'm looking to hit my 'areas' and look to make inroads into the batting”, said the West Indies’ pacer.

Roach asserted that he always hunts for wickets with a new ball and has been successful in putting pressure on batsmen. The 22 year-old gave a marvelous bowling performance in the recent World Cup campaign.

He secured a hat-trick against the Netherlands during the group stages and out of the six games West Indies played in the World Cup, he claimed 13 wickets.

Roach has claimed 39 wickets at an average of 22.53 in 22 ODIs. His best bowling innings was a staggering 6/48. In the third edition of the Indian Premier League, Roach was the most expensive player as the Deccan Chargers bought him for $720000.

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DARREN SAMMY SAYS THEY FAILED TO CAPITALISE ON GOOD START AGAINST PAKISTAN

West Indies skipper Darren Sammy rued his team’s inability to capitalise on the good start to post a par score as the hosts lost their second successive One Day International against Pakistan at St Lucia on Monday.

The 27-year-old medium pacer said that his side failed to capitalise in the key moments both in batting and bowling and this led to their seven-wicket defeat at the hands of the Men in Green. However, Sammy was happy that they were not totally rolled over as Pakistan took 47 overs to win the match.

“We could have tried to squeeze their batsmen more and when we batted we got a good start, but did not capitalise on it,” said Sammy. “We weren't rolled over today. We kept ourselves in the match right to the finish. There were moments when things could have gone either way, but we didn't make it happen.”

Sammy urged his side to find ways to come out of tight situations successfully. He insisted that they need to win the next game of the five-match ODI series in order to keep their prospects alive.

The West Indies batting line-up collapsed miserably against the Pakistan attack as none of the batsmen could cross the 30-run mark sans opener Lendl Simmons who struck a level-headed half century. Eight of the Caribbean batsmen failed to get past even 20. As a result, the hosts returned with a gettable score of 220 for 9 that was comfortably chased down by the tourists for the loss of just 3 wickets.

The home side was unable to post an impressive total in the opening One day International of the series as well as they made just 221 before Pakistan chased it down with more than 8 overs to go and 8 wickets in hand.

The visiting captain, Shahid Afridi was happy with the “discipline” shown by his team in Monday’s game and said that the reason behind their victories is that they are sticking to the game plan. He was also happy with the improved batting at the top of the order.

Pakistan lead the five-match ODI series by 2-0. The third match of the series will be played in Barbados on April 28, 2011. 

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Windies novices excited about international challenge

The four uncapped players in the West Indies squad scheduled to play Pakistan in the only Twenty20 International at St. Lucia on 21 April, 2011 are all excited about their first international assignment.

Krishmar Santokie, Danza Hyatt, Christopher Barnwell and Ashley Nurse were recently included in the 13-member squad that would play Shahid Afridi and his team in the one-off Twenty20 match. The rookie players said that they would try to give their absolute best in the game to earn a place in the One Day International and Test sides as well.

The 26-year-old Jamaica seamer Krishmar Santokie, the most outstanding bowler of the past two editions of the Caribbean T20 tournament, told the media that it was his father’s dream to see him donning Caribbean colours. Reminiscing the thrill Santokie and his family felt when he got the call, he said his father seemed to be more excited.

“When I got the news, I was really thrilled but my father seemed to be more excited. I could see the joy on his face,” told the left-armer. “My aim is make the most of the opportunity. I have done well for Jamaica in the Caribbean T20 and I'm looking to take that form into the series against Pakistan. It's just a matter of making the adjustment to the higher level.”

Off-spinner Ashley Nurse, who plays for Barbados in the domestic T20 tournament, was the best bowler of Barbados in the event. He was also part of the West Indies A side that played Pakistan A in 2010 and was the standout performer. He said that if he got an opportunity in the only T20 match against Pakistan, he will be looking to have a positive impact on the game.

Hyatt, the Jamaica all-rounder, who was the leading batsman for the West Indies A side against Pakistan A in the Twenty20 series in 2010 is well aware of the fact that international cricket is a different game as he said he would have to make adjustments when he plays at the senior level.

“I know I will have to make the adjustment when I play at the senior level,” Hyatt said. “I will look to be positive and play my natural game and do the things that have helped me to reach this level.”

Christopher Barnwell, the 24-year-old Guyana all-rounder said that if given a chance, he can influence the game with both bat and ball.

The right-handed batsman opens with the bat and the ball and was a key member of triumphant Guyana side that won the inaugural edition of the Caribbean T20. He also played in the Champions League.

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