Pakistani Cricket Team Practice in Mohali

PM wishes Afridi all the best

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gilani Monday telephoned Pakistan cricket skipper Shahid Afrifi and asked him to play their best against India in the semi final on March 30 in Mohali, Geo News reported.

“Prays of the entire nation are with you (the team) for your win in the upcoming semi final against India,” the Prime Minister said, lauding the outstanding performance that the national team has so far displayed.

He further said that he was going to proceed to India to wish the team the best in person for their encouragement.

Shahid Afridi, on the occasion, said each player will give his 100 percent to win the crucial match.

Pakistan outplay Windies to storm into semis

DHAKA: Pakistan thrashed West Indies by ten wickets to move into the World Cup semi-finals here at the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium, Mirpur on Wednesday.

Chasing an easy target of 113 runs, openers Kamran Akmal and Mohammad Hafeez completed the Pakistan victory without being separated, in just 20.5 overs.

Kamran contributed 47 and Hafeez 61 as both made 113 runs together, Pakistan’s biggest opening stand of this tournament.

Earlier, batting first after winning the toss, the West Indies could not resist against the Pakistan spin attack, led by Shahid Afridi, and were bundled out for 112 in 43.3 overs.

Leg-spinner 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 claimed two wickets each for 16 and 18, respectively, while pacers Umar Gul and Abdul Razzaq took a wicket each.

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.

Except Chanderpaul, Ramnaresh Sarwan (24) and Kemar Roach (16), no West Indian batsman could get into double figures

The West Indies were reduced to 71-8 before a 40-run stand between Chanderpaul and Roach, which 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 to mid-off where Afridi accepted the 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.

Team-mates back Ponting

Ricky Ponting's team-mates have leapt to his defence amid reports he could be stripped of the captaincy ahead of next month's one-day series in Bangladesh. The Sydney Morning Herald on Tuesday claimed that Cricket Australia would discuss Ponting's future as leader of the side, even if the selectors named him captain for the Bangladesh series.

The paper quoted an unnamed Cricket Australia official as saying that the time was approaching to look to the future, and that "we're waiting for the next thing to blow up". Over the past month, Ponting has created headlines for damaging a TV set in the dressing room, showing his anger at Steven Smith when they collided while going for a catch and for not walking when he got a thick edge to the wicketkeeper against Pakistan.

Perhaps more importantly, Ponting has also been struggling for runs and Australia need him to fire during their quarter-final against India in Ahmedabad on Thursday. Michael Hussey said the team was right behind the captain, and that Ponting had not been any different in his approach over the past few weeks.

"Ricky's got our 100% support," Hussey said. "He's such a class player. It's amazing, it seems like he's been copping criticism over very minor things. Things have been blown way out of proportion from our point of view.

"I've been watching Ricky in the nets and the way he has been preparing. It's just amazing sometimes how champions just rise to the occasion at the right time. Against India on Thursday in the World Cup is one of those times where I think we'll see the best of Ricky Ponting."

Ponting is searching for his fourth World Cup title and although he has signalled his intentions to play on in the limited-overs format, at 36 his long-term future in the one-day game must be in doubt. Mitchell Johnson said Ponting had retained his focus ahead of the India clash, in which a loss would mean the end of Australia's 12-year hold on the World Cup.

"He's a very important player in this tournament. He's been in a few World Cups now, so to have his experience is vital for us and he's a guy we all look up to," Johnson said. "He's copped a fair bit [of criticism] lately and he's dealing with it in his own way.

"He has got the experience needed to be able to deal with it. I don't think he's thinking about it too much, he's just worried about this next game. The guys are there to support him, everyone needs support at times and he is getting it from everyone. He is a tough character but he enjoys that support."

Ponting hasn't made an international hundred in 13 months, and his best score at this World Cup has been 36 - against Kenya in Bangalore last week. He has given no signal that he intends to retire in the near future, and last week said that he would be playing in the Bangladesh series, which begins on April 9.

Chanderpaul in line for West Indies recall

ICC Cricket World Cup 1st Quarter Final Match: Chris Gayle, Kemar Roach and Shivnarine Chanderpaul are all set to return for West Indies' quarter-final clash against Pakistan in Dhaka. Gayle has recovered from an abdominal strain, Roach is healthy after a mild infection and Chanderpaul may be given an opportunity to show that he is over his patch of poor form.

Gayle sustained the injury after West Indies' third group-stage match against Bangladesh in Dhaka, two and half weeks ago, and missed out on the Ireland clash in Mohali as a result of that. He returned against England, where he scored a flashy 43 off 21 balls, but then was ruled out of the match against India three days later.

Darren Sammy, the West Indies captain, said Gayle should be fit to open the batting in the quarter-final. "He batted in the nets and I liked the way he was hitting the ball and moving his feet," Sammy said at the Shere-e-Bangla stadium. Although Gayle was seen lagging behind some of the others during the warm-up drills, Sammy said the big-hitting opener will play through pain if he has to. "I know Chris is a very committed fellow, he will do whatever it takes to put the team in a position to win."

Roach's concern was not as serious and he has made a full recovery. He bowled in the nets on Tuesday. If Roach returns, it will probably be at the expense of Ravi Rampaul, who took 5 for 50 against India. It presents West Indies with quite a selection dilemma but one they will not be unhappy to have. "Ravi had an excellent start for us in his first game. I know we will come up with the best combination to go out and win us the quarter-finals," Sammy said.

The most surprising of the recalls is Chanderpaul's, who played in the first four group matches and scored 70 runs in three innings. Chanderpaul has not managed a half-century this year, in six ODIs, and last scored more than 50 against South Africa nine months ago. His experience means that he can't be on the sidelines for too long and Sammy indicated that his return is imminent. "He is part of the team, he has a big role to play and most likely we will see him feature in tomorrow's game."

Making room for Chanderpaul may prove tricky. One of Andre Russell or Devendra Bishoo may find themselves benched. They may also make a radical change and drop Devon Thomas, who has scored just 41 runs in six matches, and give the wicket-keeping responsibilities to Darren Bravo.