Misbah, Akmal help Pakistan to 229

By: Mushtaq ahmad on 23:34

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50 overs Pakistan 229 for 6 (Misbah 75, Akmal 40*) v West Indies
Live scorecard and ball-by-ball details

	Jason Holder took two wickets with his steep bounce © WICB  Enlarge

Misbah-ul-Haq continued to anchor Pakistan with 75 typical runs, before Umar Akmal and Wahab Riaz provided a finish with a 52-run partnership off 4.2 overs, which took Pakistan to what has so far been a winning total in this series but on much more difficult tracks in Guyana. The pitch in St Lucia didn't provide much seam movement, was quicker, making it easier to time the ball, but the heavy outfield took a bit of sting away.

Pakistan will be disappointed that despite all their batsmen except Shahid Afridi reaching double figures, only Misbah and Akmal captalised on the starts. Five of their six wickets fell to pulls or hooks, the batsmen often being late on the shot.

It took a sensational catch to wake West Indies up. Chris Gayle had already dropped a sitter, and Ahmed Shehzad and Nasir Jamshed had got off to a cautious start of 39 when Shehzad hooked Jason Holder. Kemar Roach lodged himself under a catch at the edge of the long-leg boundary, about six inches in, took the catch, was about to be taken over by the momentum, lobbed the ball back in, stepped outside, came back in, and took the catch again. Fast bowlers are not supposed to do that.

That catch was so close it would have been a six had the rope had a skirting. Replays were not conclusive, but the rope didn't move. On the same score, Jamshed top-edged the local boy Darren Sammy when he went for an ill-advised pull. Roach took another, simpler, catch.

Misbah and Mohammad Hafeez then batted with tact, albeit a little slowly. Misbah, though, outscored Hafeez in the 53-run partnership for the third wicket. Along the way, he negotiated the nemesis Sunil Nrine well, hit a six over wide long-on, and survived a close lbw call, whose DRS review gave the on-field umpire the minutest of benefits of doubt. Pakistan were 82 in 25 overs at that time, and Misbah was 27.

As Sammy went through his overs inconspicuously, Dwayne Bravo brought himself on, and drew a top edge from Hafeez, who has now gifted his wicket in each innings of this tour. Debutant Haris Sohail provided Misbah valuable support in a 60-run stand, which