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Thursday, Sep 23, 2004

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Sport - Cricket

Authoritative win for West Indies

By Vijay Lokapally

BODY BLOW: West Indies captain Brian Lara was forced to leave the filed after this Shoaib Akhtar delivery hit on his neck. — Photo: V. V. Krishnan

SOUTHAMPTON, SEPT. 22. If there was intrigue, it was only in Pakistan's decision to bat. The rest was emphatically pronounced in West Indies' favour as Rose Bowl witnessed one of the pleasant upsets in the Champions trophy.

In rallying itself from the depths of despair and humiliation, West Indies may have relived some glorious moments from its past as it brushed Pakistan aside to set up a summit clash with England, a rare happening for the charmers from the Caribbean, who have been criticised for their defeatist attitude.

Vivian Richards, in far away Antigua, and Michael Holding, commentating at the venue, would be too happy to revise their opinion on this team led admirably by Brian Lara. A demon of a ball from Shoaib Akhtar laid Lara, hit on the neck, low with the target 56 runs away but the gloom was replaced by the euphoria that followed a seven-wicket win in a most authoritative manner.

Icy winds swept the venue and froze the Pakistan batting as bowlers dominated the first half of the match. In scraping through to a total of 131, Pakistan only put the ball in the court of its own bowlers in front of an audience which deserved accolade for braving the unfriendly weather.

Pakistan, for reasons best known to the coach and the captain, defied logic and opted to bat in such conditions. Pakistan complicated matters with two suicidal run out acts, giving the West Indies just the kind of opening it needed to maintain pressure.

Sticking to basics

To the credit of the West Indian bowlers they stuck to the basics — pitching the ball up and letting the seam and swing factor to work in their favour. It was a situation that required the batsmen to be at their technical best but the top order was clearly found wanting.

Even West Indies suffered early blows when Chris Gayle and Wavell Hinds failed to cope with Akhtar's pace but Ramnaresh Sarwan — the Man of the Match — flayed the attack with vintage strokes. The message was clear as Sarwan and Lara launched a calculated assault. Realistically, the West Indians were never under any pressure either while bowling or batting. They just made a mockery of all pre-tournament predictions.

Today, even Bob Woolmer's theories did not work as Pakistan could not prevent the Caribbean side from recording a momentous occasion in a long time.

Pakistan opted for Salman Butt, the captain's favourite, as Imran Farhat, recognised by many as a batsman with a future, fell from favour. But then Butt was a stranger to the conditions and fell to a loose shot, playing across the line and presenting second slip with a sitter. Pakistan had erred in its first move.

Things did not improve despite Yasir Hameed and Shoaib Malik adopting a discreet method and just looking to survive. Dwayne Bravo, whose opening spell lasted three inconsistent overs discovered his rhythm on change of ends and was a completely different bowler thereafter.

Bravo Bravo

Bravo, in fact, changed the course of the Pakistan innings with his deceptive arm, the batsman clearly underestimating the power behind the throw from point. Hameed, having come to terms with the situation, was casual as he lunged to reach the crease.

Conceding to a request from the bowler, Brian Lara reintroduced Bravo and the young seamer justified the move with a nagging spell. "I started struggling with it a bit, so I asked Lara to change the order around and it worked and my bowling improved," said Bravo.

Bravo exploited the conditions exceedingly well and just concentrated on putting the ball in the right spot. "In one-day cricket you want to get the ball as soon as possible and that's what I tried to do," remarked Bravo. He was rewarded with the valuable wicket of Shoaib Malik, who followed the ball to gain a nick.

Bravo's prize scalp was Yousuf Youhana, who didn't read the out-swinger. Youhana was best suited in such a situation but his dismissal effectively convinced the West Indies it was time to tighten the noose. "I always want to get wickets and try to enjoy the occasion and that's what I tried to do today. It was good to get the two wickets," gushed an excited Bravo.

A revival was not ruled out when Abdul Razzaq joined the determined Inzamam but Bravo came up with another sterling act. Once again his strong arm from the deep caught Razzaq short of the crease, this time third umpire David Shepherd taking quite a while to reach a decision.

Bravo, with two poor outings against Bangladesh and South Africa in this tournament, had made the most of the opportunity he earned following an ankle injury that kept Merwyn Dillon out of this crucial contest.

Tentative Inzamam

Inzamam was tentative and distraught overall and he had only himself to blame. The more he concentrated the more he appeared to fumble before ultimately he read too much into a delivery and succumbed to a catch at the wicket.

The rude jolts continued after his departure. Moin Khan padded a straight delivery and he was the only one surprised at the decision. Rana Naved-ul-Hasan, India's tormentor the other day, had no clue as Corey Collymore seamed the ball around. Collymore then accounted for Mohammad Sami, knocking back his stumps.

At the other end, Shahid Afridi, the last hope for Pakistan, kicked the grass in disgust and swung his bat in desperation. He connected twice off Gayle, once hoisting him over midwicket, and then he played true to his reputation by swinging again, an impulsive act that brought the curtain down on the Pakistan innings.

Even as celebrations are triggered off in the Caribbean, one knows the refrain that would dominate the cricketing fraternity — "Bravo."

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