Windies make 'mush' of it

Port-of-Spain - While Christians around the world celebrated the resurrection of Jesus Christ, nearly 20 000 at the Queen's Park Oval and many more around the region mourned the West Indies' death in the Caribbean's first-ever triangular limited-overs competition yesterday.

Unpredictable Pakistan, beaten twice by the same opponents in the preliminary phase of the competition, were the ones who rose to the occasion to complete a hard-fought victory by four wickets in the third and decisive final.

It was complete misery for West Indians watching their side capitulate to their lowest total in 33 One-Day Internationals at the ground, an inadequate 114 which the Pakistanis overhauled for the loss of six wickets.

'I think we were about 60 runs short of having a competitive total. We tried our best to defend it, but in the final analysis, we didn't get enough runs,' captain Jimmy Adams admitted.

'Without getting too technical, the bottom line is that we did not score enough runs.

'You talk about keeping wickets for the last ten overs. That did not happen and we paid the price for that.

'We have accepted the fact that we made mistakes. We have to face them and we have to make sure that they don't happen again.'

The hosts defended their paltry total gallantly, with Reon King at the forefront of an absorbing battle.

The improving Guyanese fast bowler brushed aside both openers before the lunch break and added the scalp of Abdur Razzaq just after. But his four wickets for 25 runs from ten overs were not enough to stage a remarkable resurrection on Easter Sunday.

Pakistan survived the early discomfort of 19 for three, and although it took them 45.1 overs to attain the target, it was a deserved success for the Asians to follow up their capture of the Sharjah Champions Trophy just before coming to the Caribbean.

Inzamam-ul-Haq was by far their leading light with the bat. He ignored the discomfort of a foot injury that necessitated a runner for most of the afternoon and held things together with a composed unbeaten 39 that carried his series aggregate to 295 runs (ave. 59.00).

Few would disagree with his being chosen to receive the Man-Of-The-Series prize of a Rover vehicle.

Unlike so many previous occasions, West Indies' demise was not caused by careless, irresponsible strokes after they predictably maintained the pattern by batting first on winning the toss.

It was orchestrated by the craft and guile of the dangerous leg-spinner Mushtaq Ahmed and a sensational over from Shoaib Akhtar in which he twice sent stumps flying all over the place.

The combination of Musthaq and Shoaib triggered the deterioration from 71 for two to 97 for eight, which meant that six wickets were swept side for the addition of 26 runs after the best opening stand of the series between Philo Wallace and Sherwin Campbell.

Mushtaq, a constant threat throughout a series in which his economy rate was second to none, finally gained a big haul.

He snared four wickets, including the three young Jamaicans in the 23rd over of the innings that virtually settled the outcome of the match.

After Razzaq induced Campbell into flicking a catch to mid-wicket with the total on 61, Mustaq started the West Indies' problems by having Wallace stumped, a decision which television replays suggested could have gone either way.

The memorable Mushtaq over followed. The victims, in order, were Wavell Hinds, Chris Gayle and Ricardo Powell, the trio falling within two balls of each other.

The left-handed Hinds was left clueless about a delivery which he expected to spin away. Instead, it spun onto him and bowled him. Both Gayle and Powell were outfoxed by flight, the former clipping a catch to mid-wicket and the latter slicing one to backward point.

When Ridley Jacobs was dismissed to a bat-pad catch off off-spinner Saqlain Musthaq, there was still some hope of a West Indies revival, but that was quickly snuffed out by the irrepressible Shoaib.

Still not yet fully recovered from the groin injury that kept him out of the series until now, Shoaib was not at his best. But he gave a hint of what will come in the Test series by knocking over the stumps of Adams and Curtly Ambrose.

Earlier, Ambrose was typically tight with the new ball, but it was King who made the breakthroughs that were needed by finding the edge of Imran Nazir's tentative bat and removing Shahid Afridi to a tumbling catch by Franklyn Rose.

Razzaq was another casualty to an edged catch to the keeper, but Pakistan consolidated by way of a partnership of 42 in 15 overs between Inzamam and Younis Khan.

Adams broke the stand with his left-arm spin when Younis hit a loose delivery back to the bowler.

Adams struck another blow by having Yousaf Youhana snapped up at silly-point,h and King kept the match alive when Jacobs caught Moin Khan inches off the ground.

Pakistan were then 93 for six, but the experience of Inzamam and Wasim Akram prevailed.