 This must qualify as the most one-sided knockout match in World Cup history. Cliches repeated themselves as West Indies collapsed to Pakistani spin, their batsmen not knowing whether to play front or back, straight or across. Shahid Afridi took 4-30, bloating his tally of wickets to 21 in the tournament. Pakistan did not lose a wicket as Kamran Akmal and Mohammad Hafeez cruised to the miserably small target of 113 in 21 overs.
With the win, Pakistan are on course for a delicious semi-final against old foes India, who need to beat Australia in the second quarter final tomorrow.
The only Test-playing team West Indies have beaten in the last 21 months is Bangladesh. Expecting them to halt this Pakistani runaway train was a huge ask, especially after the early departure of Chris Gayle. Not that the left-hander had been in great form in the tournament.
Electing to bat and setting a large target was Darren Sammy's best bet, but Devon Smith and Gayle couldn't translate their attacking intent into a good start. Smith cut the first ball of the game for four and Gayle also got off the mark smashing one over the midwicket boundary. But he was caught at mid-off trying to launch Umar Gul over cover. Hafeez bowling with the new ball consumed Smith and Darren Bravo in one same over with identical LBWs - two deliveries that went with the arm and hit the left-handers in front.
Ramnaresh Sarwan and Shivnarine Chanderpaul returning for this match then took 19 overs to add 42 runs. It was the partnership on which hinged not only West Indies' fortunes at the World Cup, but also the career of Chanderpaul, which is on its last legs. They set the innings up, but Sarwan just when he was needed to carry.
Sarwan's form had been not been special coming into the Cup. He crawled to a 68-ball 24 before cutting a harmless tossed-up delivery from Afridi straight to point. In a matter of minutes, West Indies collapsed to 71-8.
Most West Indies batsmen were out at the wicket. The prime example was Sammy who completely failed to read a doosra from Saeed Ajmal and his LBW couldn't have been easier. Chanderpaul stretched the innings past 100 in the company of Kemar Roach and remained unbeaten on 44.
You could link this match to the Mohali semifinal of 1996. Chanderpaul's wicket in that game triggered his team's dramatic collapse. For 15 years in between, West Indies failed to make the knockout round at the World Cup. When they did, Chanderpaul was still around, and they collapsed again.
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ICC ODI World Cup 2011: 1st Quarter Final - Pakistan Vs West Indies