Little joy for Windies - Rampaul bags four but Pakistan clinch series

BRIDGETOWN, Barbados (CMC):

Penetrative bowling from Ravi Rampaul and Devendra Bishoo was upstaged by a typically resolute, unbeaten 62 from Misbah-ul-Haq that guided Pakistan to a series-clinching, three-wicket victory over West Indies in the third one-day international (ODI) yesterday.

Rampaul finished with four wickets for 32 runs from nine overs, and Bishoo ended with three for 42 from nine overs, as West Indies failed to successfully defend a modest target of 172 in their rain-affected match at Kensington Oval.

The result meant that the Pakistanis have taken an unbeatable 3-0 lead in the five-match series, after winning the first two ODIs by eight and seven wickets, respectively, at the Beausejour Cricket Ground in St Lucia.

Lendl Simmons had hit the top score of 51 and Darren Bravo supported with 47, but West Indies gave another feeble batting performance, and were dismissed for 171 with eight balls of their weather-reduced allocation of 45 overs remaining.

failed to kick on

Simmons and Bravo put on 86 for the second wicket, but West Indies failed to kick on, after they were sent in to bat.

No other batsman reached 20, as Saeed Ajmal collected three for 29 from 8.4 overs, Wahab Riaz snared three for 38 from eight overs, and Mohammad Hafeez captured two for 31 from nine overs to undermine West Indies' batting.

Rampaul then left the visitors reeling on 49 for four in the 12th over, with a telling opening burst.

He had Ahmed Shehzad caught behind and Asad Shafiq caught at second slip for ducks off successive deliveries in his first over - the second of the Pakistan innings - before Mohammad Hafeez top-edged a hook at his short delivery and was caught at backward square leg for five.

Rampaul elevated West Indies' hopes when he had Umar Akmal caught behind for 36 to leave Pakistan wobbling.

Rampaul and the other West Indies fast bowlers ran out of steam on a hard, bouncy pitch under overcast skies, and Hammad Azam joined Misbah to put on 78 for the fifth wicket to get Pakistan moving in the right direction again.

Bishoo then triggered a slide that got West Indies excited, when he had Azam dubiously trapped lbw for 30 in the 32nd over.

The jockey-sized leg-spinner added the scalps of Pakistan captain Shahid Afridi caught at extra cover for 11, and Mohammad Salman bowled off the inside edge for three to leave Pakistan rocking on 148 for seven in the 36th over.

But West Indies could not finish the job, and they were condemned to their eighth straight ODI loss against Pakistan.

West Indies (maximum 45 overs)

+L. Simmons c and b Ajmal 51D.S. Smith lbw b Hafeez 0D.M. Bravo lbw b Hafeez 47M. Samuels b Junaid Khan 18K. Edwards run out (Umar Akmal) 18D.J. Bravo c Shehzad b Riaz 11D. Sammy c Shehzad b Riaz 3A. Russell st Salman b Ajmal 3K. Roach c Misbah-ul-Haq b Riaz 0R. Rampaul not out 9D. Bishoo c Riaz b Ajmal 0Extras: (b1, lb6, w3, nb1) 11

TOTAL: (all out, 43.4 overs) 171

Fall of wickets: 1-6 (Smith, 1.1 overs); 2-92 (+Simmons, 20.5); 3-118 (D.M. Bravo, 27.2); 4-131 (Samuels, 33.5); 5-150 (Edwards, 36.1); 6-158 (Sammy, 38.3); 7-158 (D.J. Bravo, 38.5); 8-161 (Roach, 40.6); 9-162 (Russell, 41.6)

Bowling: Junaid Khan 7-0-31-1; Mohammad Hafeez 9-0-31-2;Shahid Afridi 9-2-25-0 (w1); Wahab Riaz 8-1-38-3 (nb1, w2); Saeed Ajmal 8.4-0-29-3; Hammad Azam 2-0-10-0

Pakistan (target: 172 off 45 overs)

M. Hafeez c Bishoo b Rampaul 5

A. Shehzad c wk Simmons b Rampaul 0

A. Shafiq cSammy b Rampaul 0Misbah-ul-Haq not out 62U. Akmal c wk Simmons b Rampaul 30H. Azam lbw b Bishoo 36S.id Afridi c Smith b Bishoo 11+Mohammad Salman b Bishoo 3Wahab Riaz not out 17Extras: (b2, w10, nb1) 13TOTAL: (7 wkts, 40.1 overs) 177

Saeed Ajmal, Junaid Khan did not bat

Fall of wickets: 1-9 (Ahmed Shehzad, 1.1 overs); 2-9 (Asad Shafiq, 1.2); 3-12 (Mohammad Hafeez, 3.1); 4-49 (Umar Akmal, 11.4); 5-127 (Hammad Azam, 31.2); 6-143 (Shahid Afridi, 33.2); 7-147 (+Mohammad Salman, 35.3)

Bowling: Roach 9-0-36-0 (w6); Rampaul 9-0-32-4; Russell 4-0-23-0; Bishoo 9-0-42-3; Bravo 7.1-0-31-0 (w3);Sammy 2-0-11-0

Result: Pakistan won by three wickets

Series: Pakistan lead five-match series 3-0

Toss: Pakistan

Man of the Match: Misbah-ul-Haq (Pakistan)

Umpires: A. De Silva, P. Nero

Match referee: J. Crowe

TV umpire: N. Malcolm