West Indies won the opening match of Cricket World Cup 2007 against Pakistan by 54 runs in Sabina Park at Jamaica on Tuesday.Chasing a 242-run target against the West Indies, Pakistan batsmen surrendered meekly to the West Indian pace attack as they were packed off in 47.2 overs.Dwayne Smith was the Man of the Match for his contribution with the bat and ball alike. He picked three crucial wickets - MohdYousuf, Inzamam-ul-Haq and KamranAkmal - and scored 32 runs off 15 balls.
Pakistan inningsPakistan won the toss and elected to put the hosts to bat first before a stadium packed with cheering Caribs. Pakistan suffered early blows as opener ImranNazir departed after hitting a six in the first over of their innings, followed closely by Younis Khan (9). Powell trapped the opener while Jerome Taylor caused Younis' dismissal.Powell struck again in the 11th over to pack off MohdHafeez for 11. Dwayne Smith packed off Younus Khan for 37, breaking his 60-run partnership with skipper Inzamam-ul-Haq.Smith's double strike in the 33rd over uprooted Inzamam (37) and KamranAkmal for a duck.Dwayne Bravo dismissed Naved-ul-Hasan for 11 runs. Following Smith's strike, Bravo picked two quick wickets in RaoIftikharAnjum (11) and UamrGul (0).Collymore brought about the end of the Pakistan innings, dismissing the highest scorer of the touring side, ShoaibMalik, for 63.
West Indies inningsWest Indies scored 241 runs for the loss of nine wickets as Corey Collymore ended the innings in style to hit a six off the last ball. The touring side got their first breakthrough early in the game. KamranAkmal caught an easy catch behind the wickets as the ace opening batsman Chris Gayle departed for a paltry two runs off UmarGul's delivery.Shortly after, Sarwan and Chanderpaul built a 50-run partnership to help the home side steady their innings, Akmal helped IftikharAnjum scalp the prized wicket of Chanderpaul at 19 runs.IftikharAnjum struck a second time to dismiss RamnareshSarwan at 49. Brian Lara came to rescue his side, pairing with Samuels.The duo managed a successful 91-run partnership before it was ripped apart by MohdHafeez. The bowler trapped the skipper at 37 followed closely by Samuels, who returned back to the pavilion after scoring 63 runs.Akmal took third catch behind the wicket when DineshRamdin was dismissed off Kaneria's delivery. Smith struck a few boundaries before UmarGul packed him off, exposing the West Indian tailenders.Rao IftikharAnjum proved an asset for Pakistan claiming one more wicket in Dwayne Bravo (16) and initiating Jerome Taylor's run-out for two runs in the last over of the match.
{{/usCountry}}West Indies inningsWest Indies scored 241 runs for the loss of nine wickets as Corey Collymore ended the innings in style to hit a six off the last ball. The touring side got their first breakthrough early in the game. KamranAkmal caught an easy catch behind the wickets as the ace opening batsman Chris Gayle departed for a paltry two runs off UmarGul's delivery.Shortly after, Sarwan and Chanderpaul built a 50-run partnership to help the home side steady their innings, Akmal helped IftikharAnjum scalp the prized wicket of Chanderpaul at 19 runs.IftikharAnjum struck a second time to dismiss RamnareshSarwan at 49. Brian Lara came to rescue his side, pairing with Samuels.The duo managed a successful 91-run partnership before it was ripped apart by MohdHafeez. The bowler trapped the skipper at 37 followed closely by Samuels, who returned back to the pavilion after scoring 63 runs.Akmal took third catch behind the wicket when DineshRamdin was dismissed off Kaneria's delivery. Smith struck a few boundaries before UmarGul packed him off, exposing the West Indian tailenders.Rao IftikharAnjum proved an asset for Pakistan claiming one more wicket in Dwayne Bravo (16) and initiating Jerome Taylor's run-out for two runs in the last over of the match.
{{/usCountry}}TeamsWest Indies: BC Lara, IDR Bradshaw, DJ Bravo, S Chanderpaul, CD Collymore, CH Gayle, KA Pollard, DB Powell, D Ramdin, MN Samuels, RR Sarwan, LMP Simmons, DR Smith, DS Smith, JE Taylor.
Pakistan:Inzamam-ul-Haq, Younis Khan, AzharMahmood, Danish Kaneria, IftikharAnjum, ImranNazir, KamranAkmal, Mohammad Hafeez, Mohammad Sami, Mohammad Yousuf, Naved-ul-Hasan, ShahidAfridi, ShoaibMalik, UmarGul, Yasir Arafat.