GROS ISLET, St Lucia (CMC) – Disciplined bowling by Pakistan ensured a 68-run win over the Windward Islands in their World Twenty20 Championship warm-up game at the Beausejour Cricket Stadium here yesterday.
Sent in by the Windwards, the Pakistanis made 160 for seven off their 20 overs and then restricted the Windwards to 92 for five from their allotted overs thanks to miserly bowling.
Pakistan’s innings was centred on top order batsman Muhammad Hafeez who belted three fours and one six in 57 off 40 balls.
The right-hander posted 44 for the third wicket with captain Shahid Afridi whose 20 included one four and a six off 16 balls.
Fawad Alam struck 24 off 25 balls in a measured knock but no other batsman showed enterprise.
Opening bowler Mervin Matthew was the most successful Windward Islands bowler, snaring two for 22 from his four overs.
The 24-year-old’s work in the field also included two catches, one of them being a diving effort running in from long-off to dismiss opening batsman Salman Butt off fellow pacer Delorn Johnson for 18 in the day’s third over.
The Windwards made a promising reply, scoring 25 off the first 21 balls but the second-wicket partnership between Tyrone Theophile and Keddy Lesporis was a slow one and it left the hosts too far behind the scoring rate.
Theophile struggled with 17 from 32 balls while Lesporis’ 24 required 33 balls and included four fours, as they added a painstaking 44 from 58 balls.
When Lesporis offered a catch to Muhammad Asif running in from the long-off boundary at 69 for two in the 13th over, the innings went into decline as the Windwards struggled to reach their eventual score.