DHAKA – Pakistan captain Shahid Afridi led a spin assault on the West Indies to bowl out their flat-footed rivals for 112 in the World Cup quarter-finals on Wednesday.
Afridi, already the tournament’s leading wicket-taker, took his tally to 21 as he finished with four for 30, including two wickets off successive balls.
Off-spinners Mohammad Hafeez and Saeed Ajmal chipped in with two wickets each as the West Indies collapsed in a heap after electing to take first strike at the Sher-e-Bangla stadium.
Veteran Shivnarine Chanderpaul, brought back to the team after being dropped in the previous match against India, was the only batsman to defy the spinners with a dour unbeaten 44 off 106 balls.
West Indies were reduced to 71-8 before a 40-run stand between Kemar Roach and Chanderpaul helped the former champions surpass their lowest World Cup total of 93 against Kenya in Pune in 1996.
The West Indies never recovered from the disastrous start when they lost three top batsmen, Chris Gayle, Devon Smith and Darren Bravo, by the sixth over.
Gayle, returning to the side after recovering from an abdominal strain, made eight when he drove Umar Gul uppishly to mid-off where Afridi accepted an easy catch.
Hafeez, who shared the new ball with Gul, trapped Smith and Bravo leg-before in the space of four deliveries to open up the middle-order.
Shell-shocked by the early reverses, the West Indies groped to 36-3 after 15 overs, with Chanderpaul making just three runs off his first 27 deliveries.
Ramnaresh Sarwan and Chanderpaul put on 42 for the fourth wicket before Afridi destroyed the innings with three wickets in 11 balls.
Sarwan, dropped by Gul at mid-off when he was on 14, added 10 more to his score before Afridi gained revenge by having him caught at point by Umar Akmal.
The Pakistan captain then removed potential dangerman Kieron Pollard (one), caught behind by wicket-keeper Kamran Akmal, and claimed Devon Thomas leg-before first ball.
Darren Sammy prevented a hat-trick, but the West Indian skipper lasted only three deliveries before he was leg-before to Ajmal.
Ajmal also bowled new batsman Davendra Bishoo later in the same over to continue the West Indies slide.
The winner of this tie will face either India or Australia in the semi-finals.
