Steady Misbah steers 3-1 triumph
With his fourth half-century in five games this series, Misbah-ul-Haq, the world's leading ODI run-getter of 2013 shepherded his volatile band of batsmen home in another tricky chase
With his fourth half-century in five games this series, Misbah-ul-Haq, the world's leading ODI run-getter of 2013 shepherded his volatile band of batsmen home in another tricky chase
Scorer: Gopi Rangarajan | Commentator: Sidharth Monga
Oh boy. Those are pretty serious quotes from Bravo about "key decisions". He has not uttered the word "umpire", but it no mystery what he is talking about. I am not going to comment whether what he is saying is right or wrong - you can always go back and read our ball-by-ball commentary - but this could get him into trouble with the ICC. I can still see Ottis Gibson have a long chat with the match referee David Boon. Possibly he is trying to understand on what basis was Darren Bravo given out but not Misbah. They seemed pretty similar cases, to be fair to him. Anyway, I hope they make an official complaint about it, and not just make suggestive noises in press conferences. If they make an official complaint, only then will we know if the umpires were right or if they had made a mistake.
Meanwhile, Pakistan get the trophy and pose for the photos. They still have two more matches left before they leave these shores, the two T20Is on Saturday and Sunday. See you there then
Quotes from the presentation
"Today we lost," says Dwayne Bravo, "but the guys fought. You have to give credit to them. Must congratulate Pakistan, and well done to my boys too. The matches could have gone either way. Even today a few key decisions went against us. We can't fault the effort of the players. The series could have gone our way if some key decisions had gone our way. If you bowl well, 242 was going to be a challenging total. I liked how we believed right until the end. Those key decisions at crucial times cost us. A learning process to me. A new role for me. With the talent we have, I enjoy leading the team. We can't turn things around overnight, but with the talent we have we can become a very dangerous team."
"Pretty satisfying," says Misbah-ul-Haq, who is also the Man of the Match and Series. "A win is always good, especially after the losses in South Africa series and Champions Trophy. I knew this pitch was really good to bat on, and if we kept batting till the end, nothing was impossible. The bowling has obviously been our strength. Everybody bowled really well, which was the key in this win. Always tough to bowl first, especially in pressure games like this, but everybody was really positive, that we were going to chase well."
Afridi and Ajmal erupt with joy. Some of their team-mates rush onto the field. Misbah walks on coolly. All smiles in the Pakistan camp. West Indies are expectedly distraught, but there are handshakes all around. The series has been played tough but largely in good spirit
So Pakistan have finally won the series although they had to endure a nervous end. They began well with the ball with left-arm quicks Junaid Khan and Mohammad Irfan leading the way. Towards the end, they lost their composure a bit, conceding 74 in last six overs. The same happened with the bat. Ahmed Shehzad and Misbah led them with fifties, but it took an exceptionally nervous last over for them to make it. We will shortly bring you the quotes from the presentation
"Saamne, saamne," Afridi is still telling Ajmal. [Hit straight]
"Saamne marna," Afridi tells Ajmal. [Hit it straight]
In the dressing room, Whatmore stands up and hugs some PCB official before applauding Misbah's effort. He gets a standing ovation from everybody. Pakistan have won the series already. They need a single to make this a 3-1 win
Misbah-ul-Haq c DJ Bravo b Holder 63 (161m 93b 5x4 1x6) SR: 67.74
Two required off the last over. is there still a twist left? I don't think so. Here is Holder. Seven men inside the ring, but none of them catching
People have begun to leave the ground
West Indies captain Dwayne Bravo and fast bowler Tino Best said the outcome of the fifth ODI in St Lucia, and of the series, may have been different if some umpiring decisions had gone in favour of the hosts
With his fourth half-century in five games this series, Misbah-ul-Haq, the world's leading ODI run-getter of 2013 shepherded his volatile band of batsmen home in another tricky chase