On behalf of Sriram Veera and the rest of the gang, this is Nitin Sundar signing off. See you all tomorrow!
That winds up our coverage for today. There's plenty to look forward to ahead of the Motera masterpiece coming up tomorrow. Either Ponting, or Tendulkar could be playing their last World Cup game tomorrow. Be there for the fun!
'Clinical Pakistan storm into semi-final' is the headline of Andrew McGlashan's match report, and rightly so. This is among the most one-sided quarter-finals you will ever see. It was literally a 'knockout' match and West Indies are down and out.
Presentations
Hafeez is the Man of the Match "I really worked hard over the last couple of days and it worked for me. The coach told me a couple of days back that I would bowl with the new ball, and I tried it at the nets. I just kept them on a line and length today, and it worked. My batting form came back at the right time and I hope to carry it on."
Afridi: "This is a great gift to give back to the nation on Pakistan Day. We tried to stick to our plans and the boys have done a great job doing that. Kamran and Hafeez did really well. Personally I just tried to maintain line and length, these were great conditions for spin if you landed it on the length. We had tried Rehman against NZ and Aus, he did well, and today we backed Hafeez and he pulled it off with the ball."
Sammy: "Definitely not enough runs on the board .. We didn't counter the bowling well, and fell well short. We lost wickets in clusters in spin through the tournament, and today was no different. Some bright spots - a number of people under the age of 27 - Roach, Rampaul, Bishoo and a few youngsters who should be around for the next World Cup, so we should prepare for that. Bishoo has done excellently for Guyana and is one of the positives."
Stylishstud: "if this was pro-wrestling we'd call this a Squash Match - where the weaker opponent is pulped to bits without even striking one punch to the stronger one.This is like a Brock Lesnar squash!"
Farhan: "My Depression is over. Pakistan has paid back the 10 wicket win by West Indies from 1992. Nothing else matters to me right now."
Ravi: "@Bobby: Selling your West Indies jersey?? Who's buying?"
Praveer: "From a neutral perspective, it is really sad to see such a one sided QF, probably Bangladesh will have made a better fist of this."
Gul: "I am enjoying the new ball. I have done a lot of hard work before the World Cup, including in New Zealand. Back then, Waqar-bhai told me he wanted me to take the new ball in the World Cup. So happy that things have worked out."
Handshakes all around. Smiles for Pakistan, disappointment writ large on the West Indies faces. They just did not turn up today. Gul softened them by nailing Gayle, and the rest had no answers against some sharp and incisive spin. Serious questions to be answered about their combination, and the elephant in the room is their captain, whose presence in the side kept out an arguably more talented allrounder. Sarwan and Chanderpaul have had horrible World Cups, and their futures could come under the scrutiny.
