Christchurch: Having suffered defeats in their respective opening matches, both Pakistan and the West Indies would look to fix the grey areas quickly ahead of their must-win cricket World Cup game here today in order to keep alive the hopes of making the quarterfinals from Pool B.
Starting their campaign on a dismal note, Pakistan went down to arch-rivals India for the sixth consecutive World Cup game since the rivalry started way back in 1992, while the West Indies had a nightmarish beginning, losing to minnows Ireland.
In fact, Pakistan and the West Indies are lying at the bottom of the Pool B table, even behind fourth-place United Arab Emirates on net run rate.
Pakistan’s decision to send Younis Khan to open the innings and put part-time wicketkeeper Umar Akmal behind the stumps to bolster the batting lineup against India backfired.
Pakistan would be looking to make a lot of changes as they are aware that it’s probably their best chance of making a comeback into the tournament against a lowly West Indies.
Chasing 301 against India in Adelaide, Younis was out for six, while Akmal was dismissed for a nought as Pakistan slumped to 103 for five and eventually got all out for 224 in 47 overs.
Apart from skipper Misbah-ul-Haq, who scored a half-century, none of the other batsmen could make a mark. The Pakistani fans would hope the batsmen get their act together.
Their bowling was also no better with offspinner Saeed Ajmal missing from the rank. Sohail Khan was the only exception with his five for 55 from 10 overs.
Meanwhile, West Indies also came in for heavy criticism after their four-wicket loss to Ireland.
But they can take heart from the fact that at least one of their batsmen scored a century. Lendl Simmons hit 102 as West Indies posted 304, but their bowling attack simply lacked the teeth.
On the bowling front, they are without the services of Sunil Narine. But the likes of Jason Holder, Andre Russell, Jerome Taylor have to fire in unison today.
Teams (from):
Pakistan: Misbah ul Haq (captain), Shahid Afridi, Ahmed Shehzad, Nasir Jamshed, Haris Sohail, Sohaib Maqsood, Ehsan Adil, Younis Khan, Umar Akmal, Mohammed Irfan, Wahab Riaz, Yasir Shah, Sohail Khan, Sarfaraz Ahmed, Rahat Ali.
West Indies: Jason Holder (captain), Marlon Samuels, Sulieman Benn, Darren Bravo, Jonathan Carter, Sheldon Cottrell, Chris Gayle, Nikita Miller, Denesh Ramdin, Kemar Roach, Andre Russell, Darren Sammy, Lendl Simmons, Dwayne Smith, Jerome Taylor, Sunil Narine. (PTI)
