Tweet
MUMBAI (Reuters) - Pakistan swaggered into the World Cup semi-finals on Wednesday with a comprehensive 10-wicket victory over a feeble West Indies' side.
They will now face the winners of Thursday's match between defending champions Australia and co-hosts India in Mohali on March 30 for a place in the Mumbai final on April 2.
Captain Shahid Afridi, who said before the game that the spirit in the world's most volatile side was the best he could recall, again led by example on Pakistan's national day.
He took a smart catch at mid-off to help dismiss the West Indies' dangerman Chris Gayle for eight then took four for 30 to take his tournament tally to 21 and overtake Imran Khan's Pakistan record haul at a single World Cup. A
West Indies' total of 112 from 43.3 overs was their third lowest at a World Cup and their ninth anywhere.
Pakistan sped to their victory target from 20.5 overs with man-of-the-match Mohammad Hafeez stroking 61 not out after taking two cheap wickets with his off-spinners.
"Before coming here I told my friends and the nation that definitely with this team I want to play a semi-final," Afridi said at the presentation ceremony in Dhaka.
"Now that we're there, there will be more expectations from us. The only thing you can do more is work hard."
Wednesday's match served as an appetiser only for most fans in India before the Australia-India quarter-final, described by Australian coach Tim Nielsen as a "mini-grand final".
Australia captain Ricky Ponting, under pressure at home after the Ashes defeat and his own indifferent form, was defiant on Wednesday in the face of reports that he will retire after the tournament.
FALSE REPORTS
"There has been some stuff...that I'm retiring after the World Cup. That's completely false, untrue," Ponting told reporters. "I'm enjoying my cricket as much as ever...I hope I will be playing for a few more years."
The decision may be out of his hands if Australia lose on Thursday while Sachin Tendulkar is unlikely to play in another World Cup regardless of the result.
Tendulkar, 37, needs only one more century to record a remarkable 100th hundred in both forms of the game.
His more immediate concern is to combat the expected barrage of pace from the Australians headed by Brett Lee, who at the age of 34 is bowling with the pace and enthusiasm of a man 10 years his junior.
"People have been talking about short-pitched stuff a lot. It's not new to us," Indian captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni told reporters.
"It always follows us. Wherever we are, the shadow of short-pitched deliveries can be seen. So I don't think it's a new strategy."
Tendulkar may bat without his accustomed partner, the explosive Virender Sehwag who has suffered an adverse reaction to an injection in his right knee.
Dhoni said a decision could be made as late as Thursday morning.
(Editing by Pritha Sarkar; To query or comment on this story email sportsfeedback@thomsonreuters.com)
Powered By WizardRSS.com | Full Text Feeds | Amazon Plugins
They will now face the winners of Thursday's match between defending champions Australia and co-hosts India in Mohali on March 30 for a place in the Mumbai final on April 2.
Captain Shahid Afridi, who said before the game that the spirit in the world's most volatile side was the best he could recall, again led by example on Pakistan's national day.
He took a smart catch at mid-off to help dismiss the West Indies' dangerman Chris Gayle for eight then took four for 30 to take his tournament tally to 21 and overtake Imran Khan's Pakistan record haul at a single World Cup. A
West Indies' total of 112 from 43.3 overs was their third lowest at a World Cup and their ninth anywhere.
Pakistan sped to their victory target from 20.5 overs with man-of-the-match Mohammad Hafeez stroking 61 not out after taking two cheap wickets with his off-spinners.
"Before coming here I told my friends and the nation that definitely with this team I want to play a semi-final," Afridi said at the presentation ceremony in Dhaka.
"Now that we're there, there will be more expectations from us. The only thing you can do more is work hard."
Wednesday's match served as an appetiser only for most fans in India before the Australia-India quarter-final, described by Australian coach Tim Nielsen as a "mini-grand final".
Australia captain Ricky Ponting, under pressure at home after the Ashes defeat and his own indifferent form, was defiant on Wednesday in the face of reports that he will retire after the tournament.
FALSE REPORTS
"There has been some stuff...that I'm retiring after the World Cup. That's completely false, untrue," Ponting told reporters. "I'm enjoying my cricket as much as ever...I hope I will be playing for a few more years."
The decision may be out of his hands if Australia lose on Thursday while Sachin Tendulkar is unlikely to play in another World Cup regardless of the result.
Tendulkar, 37, needs only one more century to record a remarkable 100th hundred in both forms of the game.
His more immediate concern is to combat the expected barrage of pace from the Australians headed by Brett Lee, who at the age of 34 is bowling with the pace and enthusiasm of a man 10 years his junior.
"People have been talking about short-pitched stuff a lot. It's not new to us," Indian captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni told reporters.
"It always follows us. Wherever we are, the shadow of short-pitched deliveries can be seen. So I don't think it's a new strategy."
Tendulkar may bat without his accustomed partner, the explosive Virender Sehwag who has suffered an adverse reaction to an injection in his right knee.
Dhoni said a decision could be made as late as Thursday morning.
(Editing by Pritha Sarkar; To query or comment on this story email sportsfeedback@thomsonreuters.com)
Powered By WizardRSS.com | Full Text Feeds | Amazon Plugins
