Close Pakistan 193 for 6 in 46.1 overs (Latif 47, Razzaq 46*, Hooper 2-44) beat West Indies 190 all out in 48.3 overs (Gayle 50, Hooper 45, Afridi 2-24, Saqlain 2-25) by four wickets
scorecard

An unbeaten 46 from Abdur Razzaq, ice-cool and red-hot in equal measure, guided Pakistan to a 1-0 lead in the three-match series against the West Indies at Sharjah.

Chasing a modest 191 for victory, Pakistan were 110 for 5 at one point, and then 153 for 6, but Razzaq kept his head and found the big shots at key moments to extended Pakistan's winning-streak to eight. He was made Man of the Match for his two crucial wickets and his calculated finish with the bat.

It had been an uphill battle for Pakistan from the moment they lost a wicket in each of the first two overs. Naved Latif's impetuous slash on the second ball of the innings, from Mervyn Dillon, was pouched behind the stumps (0 for 1) and then Younis Khan's tap-and-run to mid-off was not quick enough to beat Corey Collymore's direct hit (3 for 2).

To make matters worse, Inzamam-ul-Haq occupied 19 balls for one awkward run – a one-handed pull to fine leg – before smacking Cameron Cuffy to Daren Ganga at square leg (15 for 3). And just when Shahid Afridi and Yousuf Youhana were beginning to get their act together, Afridi threw away his wicket. In Darryl Brown's first over, after Youhana had milked six on-side runs, Afridi swung one violently towards backward square-leg. Collymore held on barely two feet within the ropes to end Afridi's innings of 35 (62 for 4).

But Rashid Latif came a slot higher than his usual No. 7 and scurried things along. He got started with two delightful flicks in successive overs off Brown, and then ran hard to keep it ticking. Youhana had found his touch and had begun to walk across his stumps ominously when when Carl Hooper broke through from round the wicket. On 39, Youhana lobbed a typically innocuous delivery back to Hooper (110 for 5) and it was looking grim for Pakistan.

Latif and Razzaq added 43 breathless runs for the sixth wicket before Hooper struck again. Latif swung him to deep square-leg and the catch by Colleymore ended his 47-run innings (153 for 6). It could have all gone awry for Pakistan but Razzaq hung in and coolly smashed Collymore for a monster six down the ground, and then swung him to midwicket for four more, to defuse the tension. It stuffed the fight out of the Windies and victory was a formality from there on.

But West Indies had only themselves to blame for squandering a good toss and a romping start. Ganga had set them on their way with a square-stabbed four on the second delivery of the match, but on 15, he lost his wicket freakishly. In trying to work Waqar Younis off his hips he took a backward stride too large and trod on to his stumps (21 for 1).

Chris Gayle, though, continued to make merry. He stood-and-delivered flamboyantly for 50 runs that took only 53 balls. First, he tore into Waqar with a flourishing flick to square leg and a reggae-blast through the covers. And then into Akram with a spanking straight drive and two freewheeling aerial cover-drives, to take 12 runs in four balls. When Razzaq was handed the ball, Gayle rocked back and bombarded him to the midwicket fence, and then scooped him over point, for two more boundaries.

Ultimately, Gayle's strength proved to be his downfall as he inside-edged Razzaq onto his stumps in attempting another off-side swing (97 for 3). Two balls later, Razzaq made it 97 for 4 as Shivnarine Chanderpaul, master of the on-side nudge, worked an innocuous delivery softly into the hands of Afridi at a shortish midwicket.

Hooper and Ridley Jacobs added 44 runs for the sixth wicket when Afridi, who was dabbed for a cute four by Hooper in the first ball of his first spell, struck back with the second ball of his second. A typical slider hit Hooper on the pads on line with off stump to end his innings of 45 (161 for 6).

Jacobs went on to compile 25 before his falling-over sweep at Saqlain Mushtaq didn't connect and he was bowled behind his legs (169 for 7). The innings folded for 190, a total that was going to be testing at best – and it did test Pakistan. A little more level-headedness through the middle overs could have well ended swung it for West Indies.

Teams
Pakistan 1 Shahid Afridi 2 Naved Latif 3 Younis Khan, 4 Inzamam-ul-Haq, 5 Yousuf Youhana, 6 Abdur Razzaq, 7 Rashid Latif (wkt), 8 Wasim Akram, 9 Saqlain Mushtaq, 10 Waqar Younis (capt), 11 Shoaib Akhtar
West Indies
1 Daren Ganga, 2 Chris Gayle, 3 Wavell Hinds, 4 Carl Hooper (capt), 5 Shivnarine Chanderpaul, 6 Ryan Hinds, 7 Ridley Jacobs (wkt), 8 Darrel Brown, 9 Mervyn Dillon, 10 Cameron Cuffy, 11 Corey Collymore

Rahul Bhattacharya is staff writer of Wisden.com India

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