Rainy weather, the Duckworth/Lewis method and a lightning assault by Pakistan middle-order batsmen stole the thunder from the West Indies as the visitor’s quick the rain-affected 4th ODI by 6 wickets on Sunday.
In a match already reduced to 49 overs-per-side and after Marlon Samuels blazed an unbeaten 106 in the home team total of 261 for 7, Pakistan were set a revised target of 189 off 31 overs as a 2nd shower of the day interrupted play when they were 68 for 2 off 17 overs.
Needing a further 121 off 14 overs, half-centuries from Mohammad Hafeez and captain Misbah-ul-Haq sped the visitors to the target with one over to spare. It was like a T20 game when we came back out, said a delighted Misbah after his key role in the win. Mohammad Hafeez and I realized that we just had to play normal cricketing shots and look for the odd boundary.
It was a case of not panicking and just staying focused on the target. Samuels returned to something like his sumptuous best, stroking 4 sixes and 9 fours off 104 balls in a feast of batsman ship in the midday sunshine. He put on 95 for the 5th wicket with Simmons, who supported Samuels’s classy assault with a belligerent 46 off 44 balls.
West Indies made 2 significant decisions before a ball was bowled in replacing hard-hitting Pollard with Devon Smith and demoting Chris Gayle to number 5 in the batting order in light of his continuing struggle for runs against the new ball.
He was back in the middle at 63 for 2 after Smith fell cheaply to Mohammad Irfan and Charles was trapped leg-before by Wahab Riaz, benefit from a huge slice of luck almost directly when put down by Hafeez off Wahab before he had scored.
Following a tie in the 3rd match 2 days earlier, Pakistan now have an unbeatable 2-1 lead going into the 5th and final match at the same Beausejour Stadium venue on Wednesday.
Player of the match
M Samuels
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