Ahmed Shehzad ton secures 2-0 lead

Ahmed Shehzad ton secures 2-0 lead

Unlike the island on which this match was played - St Lucia - the cricket was not arresting at the Beausejour Stadium. The stands were sparsely populated, the outfield patchy and the West Indian batsmen once again failed to combat Pakistan's spinners, their ineptness at reading variations making the contest a mismatch. Pursuing a middling target, Pakistan's only fault was their crawl in the first half of their chase, raising fleeting hopes of a competitive finish. Ahmed Shehzad prevented any such thing, his century securing a seven-wicket victory and a 2-0 lead in the five-match series.

For the briefest of whiles West Indies, spurred by Lendl Simmons, were making a more spirited effort in this game compared to their struggle in the first. Simmons, however, had no support as his team-mates either flickered and perished, or struggled to rotate the strike. Pakistan stacked up dot balls as Simmons looked on, and his dismissal for 51 was the beginning of the unraveling of the West Indian challenge. Eight of their first nine batsmen made it to double figures, but only three got past 20.

Pakistan's first break was a fortunate one. Devon Smith was struck on the pad outside off stump by Hafeez while playing off the back foot but umpire Asoka de Silva thought otherwise. While Simmons was batting with Darren Bravo, though, the signs were promising for West Indies. They were 53 for 1 after the mandatory Powerplay.

Ajmal had bowled without deserved reward in the first one-dayer. He had teased and beaten Darren Bravo in that game. There was none of that today. Ajmal pitched his first ball just outside leg and spun it across the left-hander. Darren Bravo attempted to cut, and edged to first slip.

Marlon Samuels then dragged West Indies into the mire. The run-rate plummeted after he entered, as only 14 runs came off the bowling Powerplay. Simmons tried to counter by launching Shahid Afridi out of the ground over midwicket and then charging and hitting Junaid Khan for a straight six. Samuels, however, had scored only 3 off 36 and Simmons felt the need to attack some more. Soon after reaching his half-century, Simmons drove Afridi to short cover, where Umar Akmal parried the ball above his head and caught the rebound.

Source : www.espncricinfo.com