Pakistan returned to their self-destructive ways as the West Indies completed a 37-run victory in the second one-day international (ODI) at the Guyana National Stadium on Tuesday.
Solid contributions by the Bravo brothers, Darren and Dwayne, boosted the West Indies batting effort after they had gotten off to the worst possible start when giant left-arm fast bowler Mohammed Irfan had Chris Gayle caught at the wicket in the first over of the day.
Two days after demolishing the hosts by 126 runs, the visitors folded for 195 off 47.5 overs in reply to the Caribbean side’s total of 232-8 after they were put in on a pitch expected to offer considerable assistance to the bowlers following the previous day’s torrential rain.
Photo: AFP
Pakistan appeared to be cruising along at 103-2 with skipper Misbah-ul-Haq well entrenched and opener Nasir Jamshed (54) riding his considerable luck toward a half-century.
However, Misbah played a shot totally out of character to be bowled by Darren Sammy, a fitting reward for the all-rounder playing his 100th ODI.
That dismissal was followed by a succession of poor shots and with spinner Sunil Narine returning to wicket-taking form in snaring 4-26 to claim the man-of-the-match award, a rearguard 50 by wicketkeeper-batsman Umar Akmal proved to be too little, too late for Pakistan.
With the series now level, the teams travel on to St Lucia for the remaining three matches, beginning tomorrow, before the short tour concludes with two Twenty20 matches in St Vincent on July 27 and 28.
Darren Bravo’s top score of 54 paced his team through the first half of the innings, while skipper Dwayne Bravo provided vital impetus in holding the latter half of the innings together with an unbeaten 43 that proved critical in helping the Caribbean side to a challenging score.
“Given the nature of the pitch, I thought 230 to 235 would have been a good total,” a relieved Dwayne Bravo said after he completed victory with the last two wickets off consecutive deliveries. “We really needed this win to get some confidence back and we can’t forget the fans, because they are the ones who suffer the most when we play as badly as we did last Sunday.”
Shahid Afridi, the undoubted star of that opening encounter, claimed two wickets, as did Saeed Ajmal, the pair of slow bowlers threatening to stifle the home team as they did so effectively two days earlier. Afridi could not replicate his heroics with the bat though, one wild swing too many bringing about his demise via a stumping.
Darren Bravo and Johnson Charles (31) counterattacked either side of a break before rain following Gayle’s swift demise, the pair putting on 79 runs for the second wicket. The runs dried up during the middle of the innings with Darren Bravo and Marlon Samuels struggling to get the ball away.
It took the arrival of the batting powerplay to change the complexion of the innings as wickets fell in a rush, only for Kieron Pollard (30) to finally provide some stability and acceleration with his captain, the pair taking the West Indies from the uncertainty of 150-5 in the 39th over to 220 when Pollard was bowled by Asad Ali in the penultimate over.
“Our bowlers didn’t use the moisture in the pitch well,” Misbah said in the aftermath of defeat. “The pitch then got slower and slower, so it made life really difficult for us when we batted. We didn’t help our cause by some bad shots.”
Conditions are expected to be more batsman-friendly when battle is resumed at the Beausejour Stadium in what is effectively now a best-of-three contest.
SSC Napoli’s Italian Serie A title hopes suffered a late setback on Sunday when they were held to a 2-2 draw at home against Genoa, setting up a thrilling season finale with closest rivals Inter just one point behind. The hosts remain top with 78 points, holding a slim lead over Inter, who won 2-0 at Torino earlier on Sunday, with two rounds remaining. To make matters worse for Napoli, midfielder Stanislav Lobotka, struggling with an ankle injury, was forced off just minutes after the match began. Scott McTominay delivered a perfect pass into the box where Romelu Lukaku got
A stunning Lamine Yamal strike on Thursday helped crown Barcelona La Liga champions with a 2-0 win over local rivals RCD Espanyol, with victory ensuring Real Madrid cannot catch them at the top of the table. Yamal’s effort and Fermin Lopez’s goal took Hansi Flick’s side seven points clear of Los Blancos with two matches remaining, to clinch Barcelona’s 28th title and complete a superb domestic treble. Only the UEFA Champions League title escaped an exciting young Barca side this season, as they won the league for the second time in six years, at Espanyol’s ground again just as in 2022-2023. Back then,
Jannik Sinner on Thursday marched into the semi-finals of the Italian Open after destroying Casper Ruud in straight sets 6-0, 6-1, while Coco Gauff won a marathon three-set battle with China’s Zheng Qinwen to advance to the women’s singles final. American Gauff is to face Italy’s Jasmine Paolini in today’s title match after pulling through 7-6 (7/3), 4-6, 7-6 (7/4) in a match that lasted over three-and-a-half hours. Ruud was supposed to be Sinner’s toughest test in Rome since he came back from his three-month doping ban, as the Norwegian came into the match in hot form on clay after winning in
Shohei Ohtani on Thursday delivered his first two-homer game of the season and had six RBIs as the Los Angeles Dodgers poured it on with five long balls in a 19-2 victory over the visiting Athletics. Max Muncy, Andy Pages and James Outman also hit home runs for the Dodgers, who left no doubt by taking a 13-2 lead following a seven-run third inning. Muncy and Kim Hye-seong each had three hits for Los Angeles. Dodgers right-hander Matt Sauer led off a bullpen game by allowing two runs in four innings. Left-hander Justin Wrobleski (1-1) finished with four scoreless innings after he
RSS