Windies come with all guns blazing
DEFENDING champions West Indies charged into the World Twenty20 semifinals with a spectacular 84-run win over Pakistan in Dhaka yesterday.
The West Indies recovered from a top-order meltdown to post 166/6 after electing to take first strike, before three wickets each by spin twins Samuel Badree and Sunil Narine skittled Pakistan for 82 in 17.5 overs.
The West Indies, who finished second behind unbeaten India in group two, will clash with Group One champions Sri Lanka in the first semifinal in Dhaka tomorrow.
India, who won all their four league matches, meet the Proteas at the same venue on Friday.
It was the first time Pakistan, finalists in the inaugural World T20 in 2007 and champions in 2009, failed to reach the knock-out rounds in the five editions of the tournament.
The West Indies slumped to 81/5 before skipper Darren Sammy and Dwayne Bravo led a dramatic rescue act by adding 71 for the sixth wicket off just 32 balls.
Bravo smashed four sixes and two fours in a 46 off 26 balls, while Sammy remained unbeaten on 42 off 20 balls that contained five fours and two sixes.
Pakistan never recovered after Ahmed Shehzad, who scored a century in the previous match against Bangladesh, was leg-before to Krishmar Santokie off the first ball of the innings.
Badree removed Kamran Akmal in the second over, Umar Akmal in the fourth and Shoaib Malik in the sixth to leave Pakistan tottering at 13-4.
Skipper Mohammad Hafeez (19) and Sohaib Maqsood (18) fell in successive overs to make it 42/6, before Narine removed Shahid Afridi and Sohail Tanvir in four balls to hasten the end.
Earlier, the West Indies lost both openers by the fourth over, with Chris Gayle stumped off Hafeez for five and Dwayne Smith caught behind off Tanvir for eight.
Lendl Simmons and Marlon Samuel added 39 for the third wicket when both batsmen fell in the 11th over to reduce the West Indies to 67/4.
Lendl was run out for a 31 off 29 balls while attempting a cheeky single, while Samuels was bowled by Shahid Afridi for 20 after striking a six off the previous delivery.
It soon became 81/5 as Denesh Ramdin holed out in the deep off left-arm spinner Zulfiqur Babar, but Sammy and Bravo stepped in to play what turned out to be matchwinning knocks.
In the earlier match Australia finished their unimpressive World Twenty20 campaign with a sevenwicket win over Bangladesh.
Openers Aaron Finch scored a 71 off 45 balls and David Warner knocked a fiery 48 off 35 to help the Aussies chase down 154 to win in 17.3 overs.
Australia and hosts Bangladesh had lost their first three matches in the WT20 and were playing for pride in match with no bearing on semifinal positions.
Finch and Warner put on a solid 98-run opening stand by the 12th over to quash any hopes of a win for Bangladesh at a packed Sher-eBangla stadium.
Bangladesh, who batted after winning the toss, were helped to 153/5 by Shakib Al Hasan’s 66 (52) for his fourth Twenty20 fifty – the first from a Bangladeshi in the tournament. Shakib added 112 for the third wicket with skipper Mushfiqur Rahim (47) in a much improved batting display by the home team.
The duo created a new Bangladesh record for the third wicket in all Twenty20 internationals, beating the 109-run stand by Aftab Ahmed and Mohammad Ashraful against the West Indies in Johannesburg in the 2007 World Twenty20.
The hosts lost openers Anamul Haque for a duck and Tamim Iqbal (five) in paceman Nathan CoulterNile’s first two overs, leaving the repair work to the team’s two senior players. Coulter-Nile was the pick of Aussie bowlers with 2/17.
Shakib hit five boundaries and three sixes before he fell to a brilliant catch by Glenn Maxwell off Doug Bollinger.
Rahim matched his illustrious partner as he smashed five boundaries and a six off just 36 balls, before he holed out off Shane Watson in the 17th over. — AFP