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#report

Never a bad time for a Kamran Akmal joke

Tweet report for the Champions Trophy game between Pakistan and West Indies

Nitin Sundar
Nitin Sundar
07-Jun-2013
Pakistan and West Indies. Two of the more unpredictable sides going around. When they are playing each other, expect the unexpected.
Dwayne Bravo's appointment as West Indies captain had generated some interest leading into the tournament. Bravo's first move as West Indies' ODI captain was to drop his predecessor.
Bravo elected to bowl in cloudy conditions, and Kemar Roach got the new ball to swing in devilishly. Pakistan's top order was quickly back in the hut.
Some Pakistan fans were having a bad time off the field as well.
Pakistan were in disarray but in Misbah-ul-Haq, they had just the man for the situation. He began in dour fashion, as demanded by the situation.
But Roach kept probing. Misbah survived a torrid lbw appeal, before Denesh Ramdin dropped a sitter, but joined in celebrations after picking it up off the turf. That didn't go down too well with the twitterati.
After that Misbah dug in with extra resolve and the cricket turned attritional.
What did we say about expecting the unexpected?
After a commendable repair job, Jamshed perished to a poor shot. One wicket quickly led to another. Pakistan had once again dug a hole for themselves.
It's never a bad time to crack a joke about Kamran Akmal's keeping. Not even when he's batting.
Sunil Narine's confounding bunch of variations had the Pakistan batsmen in a twist. It also had the BBC confused - they classified him as a legspinner.
Just like that Pakistan were 138 for 9. But Misbah was still around, farming the strike from Mohammad Irfan, and going for big shots.
A thoroughly entertaining partnership followed, with Irfan playing like a proper No. 11, while Misbah smashed boundaries.
Irfan fell with three overs remaining, and Misbah's wait for his maiden ODI ton continued as he was stranded on 96.
If there was one bowling attack that could defend 170, it had to be Pakistan's. Their talented left-arm new-ball pairing struck early to keep Pakistan in the game. Two early wickets got the crowd interested.
The most riveting passage of play in the day ensued, with Irfan testing fellow giant Chris Gayle with some purposeful seam and bounce.
Gayle survived a torrid spell, and along with Marlon Samuels took West Indies towards momentary safety. Some sports fans were spoilt for choice.
Ajmal brought them rushing back to the cricket with a doosra that castled Gayle. Wahab Riaz threw another punch, hustling Ramnaresh Sarwan with a bouncer.
Interestingly Djoker and Nole weren't, and Rafa was trending lower than the cricket terms.
The pressure mounted on the West Indies when Marlon Samuels walked past Mohammad Hafeez's doosra. Kieron Pollard found himself in a veritable cauldron, with Ajmal turning it in every direction, and Riaz making each ball count - slightly different circumstances than the IPL.
This was ODI cricket at its best, a day after India and South Africa had muscled it out in a high-scorer.
Pollard and Bravo buckled down, and the tide turned gradually. Pakistan continued to bowl with purpose, but the lack of runs didn't help their cause.
On cue, an Indian fan chimed in with an IPL reference.
But Pakistan weren't done. Riaz managed to get the better of Pollard at the start of the Powerplay. It's never a bad time to crack a joke about Kamran Akmal's keeping. Not even when he's just taken a catch.
Ajmal promptly did his bit, trapping Bravo in front with an offbreak. With Sammy not playing, the responsibility fell squarely on Ramdin's shoulders.
Sunil Narine strode out and smoked a four off the first ball he faced. Another couple of streaky boundaries followed.
The game refused to die. Irfan forced an edge out of Narine. Six to win off 64 with two wickets in hand. It's never a bad time to crack a joke about Kamran Akmal's keeping. Not even when he's just completed his fifth dismissal of the day.
West Indies eventually stumbled home, with Roach hitting a boundary to end a job he'd begun at the start of the day.
PakistanWest IndiesPakistan vs West IndiesICC Champions Trophy

Nitin Sundar is social media manager at ESPNcricinfo

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