GEORGETOWN, Guyana — West Indies captain Darren Sammy took 5-29 Sunday to
spur his team to an emotional 40-run victory over Pakistan in the opening
test.
The visitors, 80-3 overnight in pursuit of a victory target of 219, were
bowled out for 178 midway through the second session on day four as West Indies
won its first test match since Feb. 2009.
Sammy's medium pace caused havoc on a deteriorating pitch while the brisker
Ravi Rampaul supplied important support with 4-48 at the National Stadium,
Providence.
Skipper Misbah-ul-Haq led Pakistan with 52, the highest score of the match,
while Umar Akmal (47) and Asad Shafiq (42) provided the only other
resistance.
The West Indies take a 1-0 lead in the two-match series with the second test
beginning next Friday at Warner Park in St. Kitts.
The 27-year-old Sammy, in his fourth test as captain, was thrilled about
claiming his first victory.
"It's a good feeling. This is all about West Indies cricket. We, as a team,
needed that performance," he said.
Sammy identified his team's spirited lower order batting on the third day as
a key factor in a tense match.
"I have to commend the effort from the boys, every single person that batted
on that hard wicket, from the partnership by (Devendra) Bishoo and Shiv
(Chanderpaul) right down at the end, it showed it was a total team effort to
come out on the winning side of things."
Bishoo and Chanderpaul pulled the hosts from the mire of 104-9 in their
second innings with a last wicket stand of 48 to set Pakistan a testing
target.
"It was about applying ourselves out there," Sammy added. "We saw from day
one the wicket was quite difficult."
Sammy said the secret to his own success with the ball was
straightforward.
"It was to bowl straight and I think we stuck to that throughout the test
match and hence we came out victorious."
He said self-belief helped him get through a bit of a lean period to inspire
this success.
"I know lately things have not been going too well for me but I still have
the belief and my team-mates still have belief in me to go out there and do
well. Today, I showed that once you believe you can achieve."
Misbah paid tribute to the hosts' bowlers after a morale-sapping loss.
"To lose a test match is always disappointing. But I think they played better
cricket than us," he said. "Especially they bowled really disciplined lines and
most of the times, they got out the batsmen by good bowling."
Rampaul gave the hosts a dazzling start when he removed Asad Shafiq in the
third over of the day.
Shafiq, who on Saturday helped Misbah fashion a restorative fourth wicket
partnership worth 81, was bowled by a delivery that nipped back a long way.
Misbah found another solid ally in Akmal and the pair added a further 52 to
tilt the balance back to Pakistan.
The 27-year-old Sammy ended that resistance with a double strike that brought
his side right back into the contest.
Misbah, who hit six fours and one six during 162 deliveries and 218 minutes
at the crease, was leg before wicket to another one that cut back in.
The captain, sensing the importance of his wicket, sought a reprieve on the
Decision Review System, but was unsuccessful.
Two balls later, Sammy was leaping in delight again as wicket-keeper Mohammad
Salman was also lbw, the 18th such dismissal in the match.
That figure broke the record for most lbws in a match, the previous mark of
17 also between these teams at Port-of-Spain's Queen's Park Oval, back in
1993.
Akmal and Abdur Rehman, who added 50 in the first innings, stopped the rot in
an stand of 25 either side of the lunch.
But Rampaul returned after the break with a decisive strike to pry out Rehman
for 6. The left-hander edged a drive to second slip where Devon Smith pouched a
fine, low catch.
Sammy then took over with his probing wicket-to-wicket line proving too much
for the tourists. The Canadian Press
