Georgetown (Guyana), July 17 (IANS/CMC) The West Indies registered a 37-run victory over Pakistan in the second ODI and levelled their five-match series 1-1 here at the Providence Stadium.
Spinner Sunil Narine turned the match around for the West Indies in the late afternoon, grabbing four wickets for 26 that steered them to victory here Tuesday, reports CMC. He was also named Man of the Match.
Chasing 233 for victory, after the West Indies posted 232 for eight off their 50 overs, Pakistan were restricted to 195 as the home team won with 13 balls to spare.
Pakistan were unable to produce the acceleration they showed in the first match, when they defeated the West Indies by 126 runs at the same venue, as the West Indies combined pace and spin attack to keep them in check.
They owed their total to a dogged but chancy 54, off 94 balls, from opener Nasir Jamshed, who benefited from four chances before he was fifth out off the bowling of Pollard.
From 103 for three off 28 overs, Pakistan struggled to 164 for eight in the 44th over as Narine sent back the aggressive Shahid Afiridi (5), Wahb Riaz (3) and Saeed Ajmal (1) cheaply.
Captain Dwayne Bravo then formalised the result in the 48th over as he had wicketkeeper Umar Akmal (50 off 46 balls) and tailender Asad Ali caught off successive deliveries.
On a pitch that offered assistance to bowlers, the West Indies owed what proved to be a winning total to an important second wicket partnership between opener Johnson Charles and Darren Bravo and later in the innings, a 70-run sixth-wicket partnership between captain Dwayne Bravo (43 not out) and Keiron Pollard (30).
After Chris Gayle was dismissed in the first over, Darren Bravo, who scored a responsible 54, and Charles (31), put on 80 for the second-wicket to steer a recovery.
Dwayne Bravo and Pollard later provided some late acceleration in the innings and pushed them well over 200.
Pollard, who has exhibited a poor run of form in recent matches, played aggressively and struck the second of two sixes in the innings before he was yorked by paceman Asad Ali, leaving West Indies on 220 for six in the 49th over.
The West Indies then added another 12 runs, while surrendering the wickets of Darren Sammy and Kemar Roach. Both were run out by Pakistani wicketkeeper Umar Akmal, attempting singles on balls that missed the bat and went through to the keeper.
Akmal showed uncanny accuracy in hitting the stumps on both occasions with his gloves still on.
The win in Guyana allowed West Indies to level the 5-match series 1-1, with the three remaining matches to be played in St. Lucia.
--IANS/CMC
abr/vt
