Capacity crowd watch Windies secure 10-wkt win in 5th ODI

May 06, 2011 Sports

ODI Series winners Pakistan pose with their silverware following yesterday's presentation

Simmons leads fight with classy unbeaten 77

By Sean Devers at Providence

A raucous capacity crowd of well over 15,000 not only turned up yesterday but despite all the recent negatives in West Indies cricket, screamed delirious support for the West Indies who galloped to a convincing 10-wicket win against Pakistan in the fifth and final ODI at the providence Stadium.
The series was lost since the third match in Barbados, hometown hero Shiv Chanderpaul was sidelined and Darren Sammy’s non-performance as Captain was a huge concern.
Yet, as early as 07:30hrs yesterday morning people began to converge at the Stadium for its 11th ODI and by the time Man-of-the-Match Lendl Simmons pushed Ahmed Shehzad for a single to formalize the win at 14:54hrs, the dancing, flag-waving fans were jumping in the stands as the series ended 3-2 in favour of Pakistan.
Pakistan have never won more than three matches in any ODI series against the West Indies and yesterday they looked a very ragged side in the field a week before the start of the Test series at the same venue.
Sammy said on Wednesday he was a match away from a good performance and on a slow track with variable bounce where the odd balls ‘took off’ with pace, the St Lucian exploited the conditions in sweltering heat. He produce his best bowling performance as captain (10-0-30-3) while pacer Ravi Rampaul (4-45) had his second five wicket haul in the series as Pakistan were dismissed for 139 in 41.2 overs.
Every West Indian bowler looked impressive as Pakistan batting first for the second time in the series, completely lost their way after Man-of-the-Series Mohammed Hafeez (55) was bowled by Sammy at 93-5 in the 29th over.

Kirk Edwards in full flow

Sammy has had a torrid time since he assumed the Captaincy against Sri Lanka last year and yesterday’s result (the 10th ten-wicket win since their first against Zimbabwe in the 1983 World Cup and first since they beat Netherlands in 2007) and his own spell, must have put a smile on the Captain’s face as he prepares for the bigger challenge of the Test series.
Simmons, who punched off-spinner Saeed Ajmal gloriously to the cover boundary to reach his sixth ODI fifty and fourth in the series, played an array of audacious shots on the lush-green outfield and his unbeaten 77 dominated the opening partnership with Kirk Edwards who finished unbeaten on 40.
The 26-year-old Simmons batted with consummate ease and along with Edwards, whose confidence increased as his innings progressed, began the reply in positive fashion.
The host reached 34-0 off six overs by Lunch as leg-spinner Shahid Afridi opened the bowling himself after Antiguan leg break bowler Anthony Martin had shared the new ball with Rampaul after Pakistan had won the toss.
The Pakistan spinners including Ajmal, whose ‘Doosra’ continues to raise eyebrows, failed to penetrate on the slow track and Simmons in particular was willing to use his feet to the bowlers. A nonchalant straight six off Hafeez was full of class.
The Trinidadian Simmons hit seven fours and three sixes in his 73-ball innings while Edwards’ 71-ball knock was decorated with three fours as they reached 140-0 in just 23.3 overs to follow up the one-run win on the Duckworth/Lewis system in the last game.
Earlier, the West Indies rested pacers Kemar Roach and Andre Russell and once Taufeeq Umar (3) seemed unfortunate to be adjudged caught behind off Rampaul in the 5th over at 16-1, the Pakistanis were never allowed to gather momentum.
Hafeez followed up his ton in the last match with another solid display before he fell just after passing his 10th half-century at this level but his 10th ODI fifty was in a losing cause.
Umar Akmal (24) was just beginning to look threatening when he was bowled by Rampaul and only Mohammed Salem (19*) of the other batsmen reached double figures against the disciplined Windies attack.
Nineteen year old Shehzad, who scored a classy century in St Lucia, was bowled off the inside edge for nine at 48-2 as Sammy took his first wicket in the series while leg-spinner Davendra Bishoo struck at 67-3 when he bowled Usman Salahuddin (8).
Once the 36-year-old Misbah Ul Haq, who will lead the Test team, was trapped leg before for one at 72-4 by Sammy who then got rid of the stubborn Hafeez six overs later, the fight was knocked out of the visitors, in their first ODI in Guyana since 1993.
Rampaul and Dwayne Bravo (2-16) wrapped up the innings with 8.4 overs remaining and by Lunch, victory was virtually assured and the fans in the Party stand, including the swim-suit clad girls in the swimming pool, were already celebrating.
With Guyana’s President Bharat Jagdeo (in the company of Chanderpaul) meeting fans beyond the boundary and the music system in the Mound on ‘full blast’ in between overs, Simmons and Edwards guided the West Indies to an emphatic win as Pakistan, especially Wicketkeeper Salman, endured a sloppy day in the field.
Pakistan will now face Guyana in a two-day game at Bourda on Sunday and Monday before the first Tests commences on Thursday.
Yesterday’s win and the expectations of seeing Guyanese Ramnaresh Sarwan, Chanderpaul and Bishoo in the line-up, should inspire interest for the five-day game in a country which usually provides the biggest support for West Indies matches, even as it produces emotional reactions to the seemingly never-ending controversy which is crippling West Indies cricket.