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World Twenty20: Windies through to semi-finals after thrashing Pakistan

 

Amlan Chakraborty
Tuesday 01 April 2014 23:11 BST
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Darren Sammy hit an unbeaten 42 off 20 balls against Pakistan
Darren Sammy hit an unbeaten 42 off 20 balls against Pakistan

Holders West Indies sailed into the World Twenty20 semi-finals after Dwayne Bravo's power-hitting and Samuel Badree's lethal spin bowling earned an impressive 84-run victory over Pakistan.

Darren Sammy's men overcame a wobbly start to post a strong 166 for 6 before returning to bowl out Pakistan for 82 runs in 17.5 overs and set up a semi-final against Sri Lanka tomorrow. India, who won the inaugural competition in 2007, take on South Africa in the second semi-final on Friday.

Opting to bat first in what was effectively a quarter-final contest, Bravo (46) and Sammy (42 not out) provided the late assault as West Indies plundered 59 runs in the last three overs at the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium.

"We had nothing to lose, we were under pressure," man of the match Bravo said of the stage when West Indies were 81 for 5 in the 14th over.

"I said to Sammy, 'Don't worry about picking [Pakistan spinner Saeed] Ajmal or trying to rotate [strike]... Keep your eyes on the ball. We are powerful enough. If we get close to the ball, we'll hit it over the ropes'."

Pakistan's chase got off to a nightmare start with paceman Krishmar Santokie hitting Ahmed Shehzad's toe with the first ball of the innings to trap the in-form batsman leg before. Leg-spinner Badree (3-10) then took over, dismantling the opposition with a three-wicket burst which helped reduce Pakistan to 13 for 4 in the sixth over. Badree's spin colleague Sunil Narine (3-16) then ran through the top order to complete the rout.

The 19 runs Mohammad Hafeez scored was the highest score in the Pakistani collapse. Earlier, Pakistan captain Hafeez drew first blood by removing Chris Gayle for five to give his team a perfect start. Hafeez lured Gayle out of the crease and beat his bat for Kamran Akmal to complete a simple stumping.

Lendl Simmons (31) and Marlon Samuels (20) arrested the slide with a 39-run stand before falling in quick succession. Bravo then set alight the stadium with his sizzling power-hitting before he ran himself out after a 26-ball blitz that included four sixes.

Sammy remained unbeaten after a breezy 20-ball knock as West Indies launched a spectacular late assault to amass 82 runs in the final five overs, exactly what Pakistan managed in their entire innings.

Reuters

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