Pakistan stun Windies in first ODI

Abu Dhabi: Pakistan snatched victory from the jaws of defeat as Kamran Akmal scored 15 runs in three balls and helped his team to a four-wicket win over West Indies.

Akmal's heroics left the West Indies shocked after they looked winners right through the match until the final over when Pakistan needed 17 runs to win.

After a master knock of 113 by skipper Chris Gayle and a half century by Ramnaresh Sarwan helped West Indies finish 294 for 9 in 50 overs, the determined run chase by Pakistan saw them through, thanks to half centuries from skipper Shoaib Malek (66), opener Khurram Manzoor (69) and Younis Khan (56).

Gayle, the big-hitting Jamaican superstar and Lionel Baker, a debutant from a little known region in Leeward Islands, had combined to bring Windies close to a win on their debut here but Akmal changed everything when he hit two sixes of successive balls of Jeerome Taylor and then took three of the next to help Pakistan draw first blood in the three-match Fortune Cup.

Baker, who earlier in the evening became the first player from Montserrat, part of British Leeward Islands, to play international cricket for the West Indies, picked up three wickets as Pakistan left it late and pulled off a stunning win.

While Pakistan suffered a setback even before the match as Shoaib Akhtar pulled out with a calf injury, Gayle called correctly, elected to bat and dominated a toothless Pakistan attack right from the word go.

Replacement

Akhtar's replacement Abdur Rauf conceded 33 in four overs and only a miserly spell from the other end by Tanvir (5-1-10-0) slowed the Windies juggernaut.

Gayle and Chattergoon put on 125 for the opening wicket before Malek had the latter caught by Khurram Manzoor for 33 off 55 balls in his second over.

Gayle continued his onslaught and reached his 100 in 90 balls before he was caught by the popular Pathan Afridi at mid wicket off Umer Gul.

Gayle slammed five sixes and 11 fours in his knock of 113 to become the first centurion at the Zayed Cricket Stadium, bettering the previous highest of 92 by then Indian skipper Rahul Dravid in 2006 against Pakistan.

SCOREBOARD

West Indies:
C. Gayle c Afridi b Gul 113
S. Chattergoon c Manzoor b Malik 33
R. Sarwan c Akmal b Afridi 55
S. Chanderpaul c Butt b Tanveer 36
X. Marshall b Gul 26
C. Baugh c Malik b Gul 5
B. Nash run out 9
J. Taylor b Tanveer 3
D. Powell b Tanveer 0
N. Miller not out 0
Extras: (lb6, nb2, w6) 14
Total: (for nine wkts) 294
Did not bat: L. Baker

Fall of wickets: 1-125 (Chattergoon), 2-198 (Gayle), 3-213 (Sarwan), 4-255 (Marshall), 5-276 (Baugh), 6-285 (Chanderpaul), 7-294 (Taylor), 8-294 (Powell)

Bowling: Tanveer 10-1-42-3 (1nb, 2w), Rauf 9-0-77-0, Gul 10-0-66-3 (1nb, 2w), Malik 10-0-43-1 (1w), Afridi 10-0-45-1 (1w), Alam 1-0-15-0
Overs: 50

Pakistan:
Salman Butt b Baker 24
Khurrum Manzoor c Baugh b Taylor 69
Younus Khan c Chattergoon b Baker 56
Misbahul Haq b Miller 7
Shoaib Malik c Chanderpaul b Taylor 66
Shahid Afridi c Chanderpaul b Baker 4
Fawad Alam not out 26
Kamran Akmal not out 24
Exras: (lb6, nb3, w10) 19
Total: (for six wkts) 295
Did not bat: Sohail Tanveer, Umer Gul, Abdur Rauf

Fall of wickets: 1-64 (Butt), 2-142 (Manzoor), 3-159 (Haq), 4-206 (Younus), 5-224 (Afridi), 6-262 (Malik)

Bowling: Powell 10-0-58-0 (1nb, 4w), Taylor 9.5-0-54-2 (2w), Baker 9-0-47-3 (1w), Gayle 6-0-33-0 (2nb, 1w), Miller 10-0-64-1 (2w), Nash 5-0-33-0
Overs: 49.5

Toss: West Indies
Umpires: Steve Davis (AUS), Mark Benson (ENG)
Tv umpire: Daryl Harper (AUS)
ICC match referee: Mike Procter (RSA)

TEAMS

Pakistan: Salman Butt, Khurram Manzoor, Younis Khan, Misbah-ul-Haq, Shoaib Malik (Capt), Shahid Afridi, Kamran Akmal (wk), Fawad Alam, Sohail Tanvir, Abdur Rauf and Umar Gul. 12th man: Khalid Latif

West Indies: Chris Gayle (capt), Sewnarine Chattergoon, Xavier Marshall, Ramnaresh Sarwan, Shivnarine Chanderpaul, Brendan Nash, Carlton Baugh (wk), Jerome Taylor, Nikita Miller, Darren Powell, Lionel Baker. 12th man: Dave Mohammad