West Indies defeated Pakistan in the World Cup opener by 54 runs with a helping hand from ace bowler Dwayne Smith who also claimed the ‘man-of-the-match’ award.
Playing first the West Indies made a total of 241 for nine off 50 overs with a resilient Marlon Samuels hitting 63 off 70 balls with the help of five 4s and three 6s. Samuels was assisted well by Ramnaresh Sarwan who contributed 49 runs and Lara with 37 runs.
The Pakistan team started well but slumped to 187 all out off 47.2 overs. The only grace was Shoab Malik who made 62 runs off 54 balls.
Rest of the Pakistan team could only struggle to stand in front of the menace called Dwayne Smith. Smith claimed key wickets of Mohammad Yousuf, Inzamam-ul-Haq and Kamran Akmal.
West Indies captain Brian Lara credited this victory to the young players in the team. He said:
We’re going to be tapping on the shoulders of some of the younger players if we are want to win this World Cup and today . . . the likes of Dwayne Bravo, Dwayne Smith and all these guys coming through is something special.
The showdown has finally begun with a classic match from the host team.
