Harsha Bhogle on 1st Quarter Final: Pakistan vs West Indies

Cricinfo's Original Video (Raafay Awan's Blog)

1st Quarter Final: Pakistan vs West Indies

Pakistan are two games away from repeating the heroics of Imran Khan's 1992 team after a crushing 10-wicket victory against West Indies in the first quarter-final in Dhaka. Mohammad Hafeez starred with bat and ball, beginning West Indies' decline with two early wickets then ending it with a brisk 61, while Shahid Afridi is proving an inspirational force and led from the front again with four more scalps as the spinners produced a ruthless display to dismantle West Indies for 112.

Between the three of them, Pakistan's slow bowlers had figures of 27.3-5-64-8 and gave another example of how there is a threat from every part of the attack. At no point did Afridi need to fill overs, especially when the weakest link of the bowlers - Hafeez - managed to take 2 for 16 in his full allocation. Hafeez then dominated an unbroken opening stand with Kamran Akmal which wiped off the target with barely an alarm and 29 overs to spare.

The match represented a contest for as long as Chris Gayle was in the middle - the sum total of 2.5 overs. His departure sucked the life and belief from West Indies line-up with the rest remaining rooted to the crease, managing just seven fours and a solitary Shivnarine Chanderpaul six as he nudged his way to a hollow, unbeaten 44.

Some early aggression had proved the falsest of dawns. Devon Smith cut the first ball of the match to the point boundary and Gayle played two thumping shots, but in attempting his third boundary, he picked out Afridi at mid-off who did well to hold on to a stinging drive. With their talisman gone, West Indies became virtually scoreless.

Hafeez, handed the new ball after Abdur Rehman was left out, caused a host of problems for the left handers, mainly with his straighter deliveries, rather than any turn. The major damage came in his third over as he skidded one past Smith's inside edge, and three balls later, a similar delivery removed Darren Bravo as he thrust his pad down the line.

The next six overs brought just six runs as Ramnaresh Sarwan and Chanderpaul were rendered scoreless by the combination of Hafeez and Gul. The shackles were momentarily broken when Sarwan collected two boundaries off Wahab Riaz - the second a flowing cover drive - but they were the rare exception.

Hafeez was allowed to bowl eight overs for 12 runs though he was barely turning the ball and spinners continued to cause problems when Afridi had two close shouts for lbw in his first over. He used up a review with the first one but should have broken through in his second over when Gul didn't accept a chance at long-off when Sarwan, on 14, tried to go over the top.

Runs came at a painful rate, but at least the fourth-wicket pair were trying to set a platform. However, with the pressure building and Pakistan racing through the overs Sarwan felt he had to try some shots, but couldn't clear cover as he cut a delivery which bounced more than expected. Not for the first time, Afridi stood with arms aloft and it was just the start for the Pakistan captain.

Kieron Pollard did nothing to end the argument that he's a bully of weak bowling attacks when he bottom-edged a cut and Kamran Akmal's recent improvements continued with a sharp take. None of the West Indian batsman - barring Chanderpaul - had a clue which way Afridi was turning the ball and that was summed up by Devon Thomas' dismissal as he played back to a quicker ball.

From legspin to offspin it was then the turn of Saeed Ajmal to make more lower-order batsmen look foolish. Darren Sammy, who will struggle to justify his place in the team after this tournament, was turned square by a perfect doosra and the same delivery also removed Devendra Bishoo although this time the batsman helped with an inside edge.

Kemar Roach showed some of his team-mates that batting wasn't impossible as he accompanied Chanderpaul for 15 overs to add 40 but it was like trying to the plug the leak in the Titanic. Roach eventually chipped to midwicket and the innings ended with more than six overs remaining when Ravi Rampaul was bowled round his legs by Afridi.

Pakistan weren't going to ease their way to the target and after two overs had 25 on the board - it had taken West Indies until the 12th over to reach that point. Hafeez rode on the confidence of his bowling display, but some of the bowling served up was as bad as the earlier batting. A couple of tough half chances were spilled without affecting the result.

The victory means their first journey to India since 2007 to face either the co-hosts or defending champions in Mohali. Pakistan won't care who the opposition are, it will take an exceptional performance to stop them.

India vs West Indies

Oh West Indies, they have done it again. For the second match in a row they had a chase all wrapped up but some desperate inspiration from Zaheer Khan and Harbhajan Singh and some mindless cricket from the batsmen who followed Devon Smith ensured that West Indies remained without a win over a Test side other than Bangladesh since June 2009. With Smith playing as well as he has ever played, West Indies almost mocked India for the first 27 overs, getting up to 146 for 2 without a care in the world. Then came a maiden by Harbhajan and a wicked Zaheer slower ball to remove Smith, and West Indies lost the last eight wickets for 34.

That collapse outdid India's own - 7 for 50 - that had threatened to undo Yuvraj Singh's century on a track whose bounce West Indies and Ravi Rampaul exploited, but not to the fullest. Rampaul, the hero of West Indies' last win against a major side, took his first five-for in ODIs on his World Cup debut to hurt the start, the middle and the end of the Indian innings. However, West Indies' insistence on opening the bowling with Sulieman Benn despite the helpful track, and the obvious plan of trying to bounce India out meant they couldn't capitalise on a first over that claimed Sachin Tendulkar. Then there was Yuvraj, with his maiden World Cup century, fighting dehydration, vomiting on the field, and then coming back to take two wickets.

The game might have ended in a whimper, but it began explosively. As they successfully did in the last two World Twenty20s, West Indies came out with bouncers for India. Inside the first 11 overs, two deliveries bounced over the keeper's head for byes, two batsmen got out to deliveries dug in short, one was dropped off another short delivery, but Benn went for 21 off his three overs to ease the pressure. To make matters worse Darren Sammy dropped Yuvraj twice, chances not easy but not impossible, at 9 and 13.

Working with Yuvraj was Virat Kohli, for whom it was almost a homecoming to bat at No. 3 in the absence of the injured Virender Sehwag. In familiar environs of not having to score at a strike-rate of 150, Kohli did just what was required on a tough pitch after a tough start, scoring 59 off 76, letting Yuvraj take the majority of the strike in a 122-run partnership, after the two had come together at 51 for 2.

Even after Yuvraj was reprieved twice, the bouncers still kept coming, the odd ball still misbehaved - especially for the left-hand batsman. He got dehydrated and threw up but nothing seemed to be able to stop the Yuvraj specials in between, shots that kept the scoring rate up in the middle overs. Kohli was smart too: he had played 21 deliveries when Yuvraj came to join him, but so good was the strike manipulation that Yuvraj had played 12 more deliveries than him by the time their partnership ended.

During the partnership, Yuvraj pulled over midwicket, cover-drove for fours along the ground, swept the legspin of Devendra Bishoo, and on-drove Sammy over long-on for a majestic six. It was one of those days when Yuvraj was feeling it, one of those days when he plays one level above the game around him. His mates, though, managed to engineer another collapse from 218 for 3 in the 42nd over.

Buoyed by that good finish with the ball, West Indies came out positive. As Rampaul stood up in the absence of the unwell Kemar Roach, so Smith did in place of the injured Chris Gayle. He cut furiously - almost every bowler got a taste of his trademark shot - he picked singles straight to infielders, doubles straight to those in the deep. However, R Ashwin, who got his World Cup debut at long last, was difficult to hit with the new ball. He used his carrom ball to remove the potentially explosive Kirk Edwards.

Still Smith and Darren Bravo first, and Smith and Ramnaresh Sarwan thereafter kept knocking off the runs calmly. The running between the wickets, and then the odd boundary to break a string of dots, remained a feature. The panic and rush that characterised their effort against England was conspicuous in its absence. With Smith scoring at will, and West Indies needing just 123 in the last 23 overs, only West Indies stood in the way of West Indies.

Turned out they needed a bit of help from India to kickstart the collapse. It came through a maiden from Harbhajan, who came back remarkably after an uninspiring spell of four overs for 23 with the new ball. Harbhajan and Munaf Patel put together a spell of 19 balls for just eight runs before Zaheer was called upon to provide the exclamation mark.

And how he did, with his new knuckle slower ball, where the middle finger doesn't hold the ball tightly, thus taking the pace off without giving any indication to those who are watching from the front. With that slower ball, he removed Smith's off stump after a virtually faultless innings. After that, the procession began. Kieron Pollard holed out to long-on at the first sight of pressure, Sammy was sold down the river by Sarwan, Devon Thomas and Andre Russell fell to the wiles of Yuvraj, and it was all over.

The way West Indies and India collapsed, conspiracy theorists will waste no time in suggesting that both teams wanted to avoid Australia in the quarter-final. As it turned out, West Indies finished fourth in Group B, thus getting Group A leaders Pakistan in Dhaka. And India renew hostilities with Australia in Ahmedabad.

England vs West Indies

In a campaign of ludicrously slender margins, England gave themselves a fighting chance of reaching the World Cup quarter-finals after emerging victorious by 18 runs in a monstrous battle of wills against West Indies at Chennai. In a contest that fully lived up to the "arse-nipper" billing that Graeme Swann had given it beforehand, England once again teetered on the brink of oblivion before the spin of Swann and James Tredwell hauled them back into contention in a sensational denouement. Needing 244 for victory, West Indies were coasting on 222 for 6, before losing their last four wickets for three runs in 21 deliveries.

It was a finale that would have been remarkable in any other context, but coming from a team that has managed to turn each of its six qualifying fixtures into horror-shows best viewed from behind the sofa through cracks in the fingers, it was a conclusion that teetered towards self-parody. Following a schizophrenic batting performance, in which Jonathan Trott shed his demure image to crash six fours from his first nine balls, England themselves crashed from 121 for 2 to 151 for 6, before Luke Wright justified his first call-up of the campaign with a vital 44. Their eventual total was at least 30 runs below par, but not for the first time, the team's fighting spirit made up for it lacked in planning and application.

West Indies' reply was a tale of three cameos. Between them, Chris Gayle and Darren Sammy slammed 84 runs from 50 balls, while Andre Russell launched his own innings with 45 from 29 before going into his shell after a hugely controversial reprieve on the long-on boundary. While those three were cutting loose, aided and abetted by a string of silent partners, not least the obstinate Ramnaresh Sarwan, it was clear that England had no option but to take all ten wickets to progress.

Cue the spinners - one whose last dew-sodden performance had resulted in an ICC fine for an audible display of petulance; the other whose solitary appearance of the winter came in a forgotten ODI at Hobart back in January. Between them Swann and Tredwell scalped seven of the first nine wickets, including three in the last 11 balls of their allocation, before a sharp throw from fine leg sealed the victory with Sulieman Benn well short.

That it was Trott who delivered the decisive throw was fitting, because it was his superb catch running round at cow corner that looked to have removed Russell for 39 and turned the contest in England's favour at 204 for 7. However, as he landed Trott's momentum slid him agonisingly close to the boundary rope, and though the fielder insisted he had taken the ball cleanly, the third umpire overturned the decision and Russell came back to the crease with six more runs to his name.

It was a moment that might have knocked the stuffing out of lesser sides, but England's bottle is the one aspect of their cricket that cannot be questioned after the events of the past month. Chastised by his let-off, Russell added a further four runs from 16 deliveries before Tredwell, whose three top-order breakthroughs had given England a glimmer, nailed him lbw as he attempted to work a single to leg. One ball later, Benn survived a referral by the skin of his bails as he padded up to a straight one, but England had the bit between their teeth and the desperation to make their opportunity count.

Though Strauss might have been tempted to wait for the tailender Benn to come onto strike, he decided there was no time to wait and unleashed Swann's final over on the well-set Sarwan, who had been in the toilet at the fall of the first wicket but whose belated appearance at No. 6 looked set to seal the game. He had eased along to 31 from 67 balls with scarcely a shot in anger, but Swann's first delivery turned sharply into the gloves, and looped tastily to Ian Bell at a commendably attacking short leg. Two balls later Kemar Roach slogged to Chris Tremlett at mid-off, whose extra height proved invaluable in reaching a low chance, and Bopara's subsequent over delivered the decisive run-out.

The start of the West Indies innings had been scarcely any less breathtaking. With his abdominal strain still appearing to cause him some discomfort, Gayle decided that boundaries, not singles, were the order of the day. He smashed the usually reliable Tim Bresnan for four fours in his second over of the match, before welcoming Tremlett to World Cup cricket in no-less-devastating fashion, with three fours and a dismissive six over wide long-on.

After five overs, West Indies already had 50 on the board, but in a portent of thrills to come, the spinners signalled a change of tempo. Swann's first over went for a tidy three runs, before Tredwell struck with his fourth ball of the tournament, one delivery after Gayle had swatted him for his ninth boundary in 20 balls. Leaning onto the front foot, he was rapped on the pad in front of middle, and a full four years after his maiden England tour, Tredwell finally had his first ODI wicket.

One over later, he had his second, when Devon Smith got in a muddle against a yorker, and allowed Matt Prior to pull off a sharp stumping as he scooped the rolling ball in his right glove. And Tredwell made it three wickets in four overs when Darren Bravo was caught in two minds as he pushed outside off, for Strauss at slip to cling onto a sharp low catch.

Sammy continued to attack the off-colour Bresnan, who switched ends to no avail, before another big six off Tredwell took him to 36 from 21 balls. However, after a relative period of calm, Bopara nailed him via an inside-edge onto the off stump, and the same mode of dismissal then accounted for Devon Thomas, who had been playing the anchor role in his 10 from 20 balls. Though Kieron Pollard played responsibly for his 27-ball 24, Swann eventually got the better of his block-it-or-slog-it approach, and at 150 for 6, the balance of power had veered towards England once again.

It was a scoreline that England themselves would have recognised, for the nadir of their own innings had been 151 for 6, after a calamitous collapse of 4 for 40 in 10.2 overs. All told, it was a batting performance that epitomised England's extraordinary campaign. While Trott was at the crease, caressing boundary after boundary in a 38-ball 47, there seemed no reason to doubt that, at the sixth time of asking, his team would finally produce the command performance that has been so glaringly absent from their efforts to date. But then, when he fell in the 22nd over to a feeble clip to short midwicket, the middle order lost all semblance of direction before Wright's run-a-ball stand of 41 with Tredwell prompted a vital revival.

Devendra Bishoo, the Guyanese legspinner, bowled supremely on debut to claim 3 for 34 in his ten overs, including 2 for 23 in a massively composed first spell of eight off the reel, while the bustling Russell was a constant threat as he mixed boundary balls with wicket-taking deliveries to finish with a career-best 4 for 49. But as they face up to yet another head-scratching post-mortem, both sides may wonder how on earth it came to this. With Bangladesh taking on South Africa on Saturday, and West Indies still to face a daunting finale against India, the tussle for qualification is far from over, even if England have taken their own fight as far as it will stretch.

SMART STATS:

• This was England's fifth win over West Indies in World Cups and their sixth in global tournaments. They have lost only two matches to West Indies in major tournaments.
• While England scored 92 runs in boundaries, West Indies were far more attacking, scoring 126 runs in fours and sixes.
• Graeme Swann and James Tredwell picked up seven wickets for 84 runs in 20 overs. Tim Bresnan and Chris Tremlett, on the other hand, did not pick up a single wicket and conceded 93 runs in 12 overs. The 4 for 48 is Tredwell's best bowling performance in ODIs.
• West Indies had their best performance in the first ten overs of the innings in the 2011 World Cup scoring 78 for 2.
• Andre Russell followed up his 4 for 49 with 49 off 46 balls. He missed out on becoming only the eighth player to score a fifty and pick up four wickets in a World Cup game.

West Indies vs Ireland

West Indies opener Devon Smith made a maiden century but his effort was overshadowed by Kieron Pollard, who bludgeoned a limited Ireland attack all around Mohali to muscle his side to a tall total. Pollard's effort helped to quell the criticism over his lack of performances at the international level, and gave West Indies their third win in four matches, putting them in prime position for a quarter-final spot.

A fluent Ed Joyce steered Ireland's sprightly reply but they lacked the spark needed to chase down the substantial score, though for the fourth match in a row they showed they aren't out of their depth against top teams. They kept fighting even when hopes of a victory were lost, reducing the margin of defeat to 44 runs and ensuring that their net run-rate didn't take too big a hit.

The decision to replace the injured Chris Gayle with bowling allrounder Andre Russell meant West Indies had a long tail, and no batsman of note below No. 5. That meant Ireland would have been the happier side when West Indies crawled to 142 for 3 by the 35th over. The batsmen gambled by taking the batting Powerplay then; a wicket at that stage could have scuppered the innings, but Ireland couldn't make the vital breakthrough and were helpless as the power of Pollard helped ransack 55 runs in five overs to shift the balance of the game.

Ireland had two opportunities to remove Pollard in the Powerplay: John Mooney narrowly missed a direct hit from square leg when Pollard had given up hope of making his ground in the 37th over, and Gary Wilson shelled a catch at long-on after hurtling across to get to a skier in the next over.

Over the next 45 minutes Pollard made them regret those misses with his now familiar brand of hitting, mainly muscling boundaries in the arc between long-on and midwicket. Boyd Rankin, Ireland's quickest, was brought in to handcuff Pollard, but his short ball was walloped to midwicket and an attempted yorker was pummeled down the ground. Rankin was rattled by the ferocity of the second hit, muttering to himself as his fractional mistake was punished.

A drive to midwicket in the 42nd over brought up Pollard's half-century off 35 balls - he celebrated by kissing an arm band bearing the injured allrounder Dwayne Bravo's number - but he was just warming up. The wickets tumbled at the other end, but there was no stopping Pollard, who capped a frenzy of hitting with 20 runs of an O'Brien over, which included a monstrous one-handed six that easily sailed over deep midwicket.

O'Brien had taken four wickets for the first time in his one-day career, but the Pollard assault ruined his figures. Pollard was also in line for the second quickest World Cup hundred -after O'Brien's epic against England last month - but fell attempting a six over long-off.

The pyrotechnics at the end made up for a dull start to the match in front of a nearly empty stadium when the West Indies openers treated the dibbly-dobbly attack with undue caution. There were only six fours in the first 15 overs on a track that, despite plenty of grass, afforded little movement for the seamers.

West Indies were dawdling at 3.5 runs per over when O'Brien struck in the 25th, getting Chanderpaul first, and Darren Bravo for a duck three balls later. Smith persevered and he stepped up his strike-rate in the Powerplay with a series of fours, reaching his hundred in the 39th over. It didn't thrill the watchers, but for a side which has only managed four centuries in their last 28 matches, it was an important innings.

Soon after, Kevin O'Brien struck twice in an over for the second time, though that didn't stop the runs. Puzzlingly, Ireland used their best bowler, left-arm spinner George Dockrell, for only three overs.

Ireland's chase got off to a terrible start as Paul Stirling's poor World Cup continued, dismissed in the second over. Joyce walked in and caressed his first two deliveries for four and Ireland sprinted to 35 for 0 in five, before Darren Sammy reeled off three maidens in a row and, combining with the pacy and accurate debutant Russell, created the pressure that led to William Porterfield's dismissal.

Joyce and Niall O'Brien steadied Ireland, adding 44 trouble-free runs before Niall played down the wrong line to Sulieman Benn. Joyce and Wilson then forged the biggest partnership of the innings to keep Ireland afloat, but just as Wilson picked up the pace with a huge six and two reverse-swept fours, Joyce was dismissed. Kevin O'Brien fell to a spectacular diving catch from Pollard and with that Ireland's hopes were washed away.

A controversial lbw decision by umpire Asoka de Silva, which wasn't reversed on referral, ended Wilson's stay in the 42nd over, but by then Ireland were hurtling towards their third defeat, and now need two wins to qualify for the next stage.

West Indies vs Bangladesh

Bangladesh's batsmen froze catastrophically in a performance that was a throwback to their years of ineptitude in the early 2000s, as West Indies sauntered to a nine-wicket victory in a contest that spanned just 31.1 overs. As the mood within a packed and expectant Mirpur stadium turned from excitement to fury, with subsequent reports of an attack on the Windies' team bus, Bangladesh shipped all ten wickets in 18.5 overs to be routed for 58 - the lowest total ever made by a Full Member nation in World Cup history.

It was a craven performance in a critical contest. With the permutations in Group B blown wide open by England's loss to the Irish, both teams knew that the winner of this match would have one foot firmly planted in the quarter-finals. However, the cool efforts of Sulieman Benn, Kemar Roach and Darren Sammy - the only three West Indian bowlers called upon - proved too much for a feckless batting line-up that never tried to recover from the third-ball dismissal of its linchpin, Tamim Iqbal.

After out-muscling Ireland in a low-scoring thriller last week, Bangladesh began their third contest full of optimism, with the crowd reacting wildly to Shakib Al Hasan's correct call at the toss. However, the din was sucked clean out of the stadium by Roach's third delivery of the match, a full-length outswinger which Tamim flashed loosely to Sammy at second slip for a duck.

Roach, who wrapped up West Indies' victory over the Netherlands on Monday with a hat-trick, had four wickets in his last six World Cup deliveries. The confidence in his team's performance was instantly tangible, and three overs later the captain Sammy was back in the thick of things, this time with his own third delivery, as Imrul Kayes feathered a short ball through to the keeper for 5.

Mushfiqur Rahim - one of the cooler heads in the Bangladeshi dressing-room - then flicked his fourth ball loosely to short midwicket to give Sammy two in seven, and though Junaid Siddique prevented Bangladesh's score from stalling with a cool flow of boundaries in a 27-ball 25, his token resistance was ended by the extra pace of Roach, who took the pitch out of the equation with a pinpoint yorker that struck the batsman flush on the toe.

At 36 for 4, the collapse was only just gathering pace. Shakib once again looked in prime form with a classy slap for four off Sammy, but he had not added to his total when he joined the procession one over later, bowled by the second over of Benn's new spell as he hung back in his crease and offered next to no resistance as the stumps were broken by a full-length tweaker.

Next up came Raqibul Hasan, who revived the crowd briefly by bringing up Bangladesh's 50 in the 14th over with a poke to third man, but two balls later silence reigned once again as Sammy served up a rare wide delivery, and Raqibul obligingly slapped a cut to point for 4.

Mohammad Ashraful confirmed the quality and trustworthiness of the surface with two elegant fours in his 21-ball stay - a drive through the covers and a fierce cut through point - but Roach's extra pace once again made the difference, as Ashraful wafted the first ball of his sixth over to the keeper. Naeem Islam, by this stage, had also been and gone, beaten by Benn's extra bounce to poke another catch to the keeper.

The end had been nigh right from the moment of Tamim's departure, but the denouement was pathetic. Shafiul Islam faced up to a field including a slip and a gully, and chose an open-faced prod straight into the hands of the latter, and one delivery later, a Benn yorker proved sufficient to peg back Rubel Hossain's off stump.

As they retreated to the dressing-room, the Bangladesh team was showered with torn-up "4" and "6" placards by a livid and bitterly disappointed crowd, who were streaming from the exits throughout the West Indies' 78-ball chase. Chris Gayle nudged his first delivery through point to bring up his 8000th run in ODI cricket, before sealing the mismatch with a 36-ball 37. Devon Smith, who was bowled for 6 by Naeem, was the only man to miss out on a day of total Caribbean dominance.

West Indies vs Netherland

Kemar Roach lifted the spirits on a dank day of World Cup action by becoming the sixth bowler to claim a World Cup hat-trick as West Indies cruised past a disappointing Netherlands outfit in Delhi.

Roach's whippet pace and low trajectory overwhelmed Netherlands who, set 331 for victory, were left to regret their captain's decision to field first. He finished the game in style, trapping Pieter Seelaar and Bernard Loots lbw before splattering Berend Westdijk's middle stump to seal a 215-run victory. 

After the World Cup found its voice in a nerve-shattering encounter on Sunday evening it reverted to an inaudible mumble on Monday as Canada capitulated against Zimbabwe in Nagpur, before Netherlands put up an embarrassing showing. Gone was the intensity and discipline that spooked England as they allowed West Indies to saunter to victory with more than 18 overs left unused.

This was an important match for West Indies who, coming into it, looked in danger of being drawn into a qualification dogfight in Group B. If they are to beat Bangladesh to the quarters they need their big guns to fire and they would have been relieved that Chris Gayle and Kieron Pollard found their form before Roach's heroics.

It was only a composed but futile 55 not out from Tom Cooper that dragged Netherlands past their lowest-ever ODI total - 80 against West Indies four years ago - in a showing that did themselves, and the beleaguered Associate brand, a total disservice.

Roach operated consistently around the 90mph mark and was happy to aim full at the stumps - a tactic shunned by England's bowlers against the same opposition - and Netherlands' batsmen were not up for a fight. 

Though he took six wickets, the crucial, crushing blow was landed by towering left-arm-spinner Sulieman Benn. Ryan ten Doeschate, the hero against England and the sole player in the side with the quality to mount a challenge, was trapped low on the front pad and despite a long stride, and a review, he could not survive. Thereafter it was only Cooper who could resist Roach's pace.

The rot was set earlier in the day when Gayle made a measured 80 and Pollard a 27-ball 60 that carried West Indies out of sight. Pollard blended his immense power with the touch of savvy that has been absent from his 50-over game so far to bring up only his second ODI fifty. His assault gave a crowd deprived of much excitement something to cheer and emphatically confirmed that Borren's decision to field first on a pudding pitch and speedy outfield was the wrong one.

Devon Smith's silky fifty allowed Gayle plenty of time to rouse himself into the contest. At no stage were West Indies pinned down but it did take Gayle 24 deliveries to find the boundary. ten Doeschate's first over shattered his shackles as he drove three times through the covers, before collecting two more boundaries in the next over. He looked poised to explode from thereon but was instead content to coast and make the most of some generous Netherlands offerings.

The seam bowlers leaked runs both sides of the wicket and it was only the 23-year-old left-arm-spinner Pieter Seelaar who impressed. With an action and temperament similar to his touted Irish counterpart George Dockrell, Seelaar was happy to give the ball air and was rightly rewarded when Gayle holed out to long-off, one run shy of his 8000th in ODI cricket.

At that stage, two balls into the batting Powerplay, West Indies looked like suffering the same hoodoo that has infected many other teams throughout the tournament, but in Pollard they had the right man for the stage. There was the customary six-hitting, including a monstrous strike into the stands off Mudassar Bukhari, but there was plenty of nous too as he raced to his fifty from 23 balls, the joint fourth-quickest in World Cup history.

Given the stiff target Netherlands were unlikely to get near and Roach ensured West Indies overcame them in style.

Smart stats

• The 215-run win is West Indies' biggest margin of victory in ODIs, going past their earlier record of 208 runs against Canada in Kingston last year. It's also the joint sixth-largest by any team in World Cup history.
• West Indies' total of 330 is their second-highest in World Cups, and seventh-best in all ODIs.
• Kemar Roach's hat-trick is the 28th in ODI history, and the sixth in World Cups. He is also the first West Indian to achieve this feat in World Cups, and the second in all ODIs, after Jerome Taylor. Chetan Sharma, Saqlain Mushtaq, Chaminda Vaas, Brett Lee and Lasith Malinga are the others to take a hat-trick in World Cups.
• Roach's figures of 6 for 27 are the fourth-best by a West Indian bowler in ODIs, and the second-best in World Cups, after Winston Davis' 7 for 51 against Australia in 1983.
• Keiron Pollard's 23-ball half-century is the joint fourth-fastest in terms of balls faced in World Cups. Brendon McCullum's 20-ball effort against Canada in 2007 is the fastest, while the next two belong to Mark Boucher in the same tournament: off 21 balls against Netherlands, and 22 balls against West Indies.

South Africa vs West Indies

AB de Villiers showed his pedigree with his second World Cup hundred, his 10th in all one-day internationals, and the fastest by a South African in a World Cup as South Africa chased down 223 at a canter at the Feroz Shah Kotla, the result sealed in the 43rd over for the loss of only three wickets.

De Villiers, who was named ODI Player of the Year for 2010, barely put a foot wrong in his knock, ticking along at better than a-run-a-ball from the start and sounding an ominous warning for South Africa's opponents in this tournament. He shared in a decisive 119-run stand for the third wicket with Graeme Smith and shut down the game by adding a further 84 in JP Duminy's company. 

South Africa's batsmen built upon the good work of their bowlers as Imran Tahir had a debut to remember, picking up four wickets and striking at crucial moments to peg West Indies back on a pitch that displayed none of the demons that led to the abandonment of the last international game at this ground in December 2009.

A new-look South African bowling unit kept a lid on a combustible West Indies, the spinners bowling a combined 29 overs for just 138 runs as West Indies imploded to be all out for 222 when, at one stage, 270 had seemed more likely. After the spinners had kept South Africa in control for much of the game, Dale Steyn returned at the death to ensure there would be no late fightback.

South Africa were in dire need of a counterpunch when de Villiers entered at the end of the fifth over with West Indies' new-ball bowlers in the midst of an inspired opening spell. Hashim Amla, whose 1,322 runs in the year leading up to this World Cup has made him one of the vital cogs in South Africa's one-day line-up, and Jacques Kallis both fell to sharp catches behind the wicket as Kemar Roach bowled with real pace and, continuing the trend already being set by other teams in this competition, left-arm spinner Sulieman Benn shared the new ball with success.

South Africa were 20 for 2 with that dismissal but, defying West Indies' attempts to keep the pressure on, de Villiers appeared totally in control from the start of his innings. Threading the gap between cover and point on multiple occasions, he sprinted into the 20s at better than a-run-a-ball and South Africa were soon trundling along at well above the asking rate. 

West Indies desperately needed another breakthrough and the talismanic Dwayne Bravo might have been just the man to provide it but in his third over a painful knee injury put an end to his contribution to his team's defence. Attempting to change direction mid-follow through and cut off a drive from Smith, Bravo swivelled awkwardly and immediately fell to the ground, clutching his knee. The physiotherapist was called for and Bravo was helped from the field and taken to hospital for scans. The extent of the damage will not be known until the results of those tests are in.

South Africa marched confidently on in his absence, de Villiers bringing up a 54-ball fifty with a massive blow over wide long-on in the 22nd over and Smith providing steady support until he missed a straight one from Kieron Pollard and had his middle stump flattened five runs short of a half-century of his own. His departure sparked wild celebrations, and at 139 for 3 in the 29th over there was still a chance the chase could get tricky. There was barely a hint of nerves from Duminy and de Villiers, however, and after a short break for rain they eased South Africa home with minimum fuss, de Villiers reaching his ton from just 97 balls.

The chase might have been rather more challenging had West Indies' batsmen been able to make more of the solid platform laid by Darren Bravo and Dwayne Smith, who helped their team weather the early departure of Chris Gayle with a 111-run partnership. Dwayne Bravo and Shivnarine Chanderpaul showed some fight with a 58-run stand of their own but there was precious little support from the rest of the line-up.

The thoroughness of South Africa's gameplans and their willingness to utilise unorthodox tactics was in evidence first in their decision to include no less than three frontline spinners in Johan Botha, Tahir and Robin Peterson and then when, for the first time in his career, Botha opened the bowling and soon snared Gayle with an edge to slip.

Bravo set the early tone with a couple of deftly glanced boundaries off Steyn and brought up a 55-ball 50 in the 16th over, his third in ODIs, and celebrating the milestone with a remarkable one-handed smite over long-on off Tahir. The century stand was brought up off 117 deliveries in the 20th over, and with West Indies starting to seize the initiative Smith turned to Botha.

Again the offspinner provided the breakthrough, slipping one past an uncertain flick to pin Bravo in front of middle and dismiss him for 73 despite a slightly desperate referral from the batsman. Tahir then took centre stage, holding a a simple caught-and-bowled chance off Smith for his first international wicket and removing Ramnaresh Sarwan before he had time to settle

Just as the elder Bravo and Chanderpaul were starting to flow a brainless piece of running put paid to their fightback. A reverse-sweep from Chanderpaul went straight to the man at short third man but inexplicably a run was called for and Bravo was easily run out for 40, the score 178 for 5 in the 38th over.

West Indies unravelled with alarming speed thereafter, their innings sliding swiftly into mediocrity after Chanderpaul, who had upped the tempo with a couple of thumping strikes, chipped Tahir straight to Peterson at long-off. Kieron Pollard's arrival at the crease caused an immediate ripple of excitement among a decent crowd of spectators, but Steyn returned to dismiss him for a golden duck with a skidding inswinger that struck the pad in front of middle and leg. Tahir had his fourth wicket when a wild swipe from wicketkeeper Devon Thomas ended up in JP Duminy's hands, running back from extra cover, and the tail proved no match for Steyn's pace and accuracy as the innings was wrapped up soon afterwards.

Australia vs Zimbabwe

Australia began their World Cup campaign on a winning note, wrapping up an easy 91-run win over a Zimbabwean outfit with no answer to the pace battery of Brett Lee, Shaun Tait and Mitchell Johnson, who finished as the pick of the bowlers with 4 for 19. Zimbabwe had put in a spirited display in the field to keep Australia to 262 for 6 on a good batting wicket, but they never looked like chasing the runs down once a positive opening stand between Charles Coventry and Brendan Taylor had been broken.

With Lee and Tait steaming in with the new ball, Zimbabwe's openers had every reason to be nervous but they quickly shed their early jitters - Coventry's flambuoyant flash over cover point being a particular highlight - and started to settle before Lee switched his length with immediate reward. Digging the ball in, he drew a false stroke from Coventry and an ungainly hook resulted in a top edge that Lee himself charged round to catch. 

Brendan Taylor did his best to overcome the setback but the revival was short-lived and after Tatenda Taibu glided Johnson straight to slip Tait beat Taylor for pace, aiming one full and straight and pin-balling it off bat and pad to disturb his stumps. It was extreme speed that did for Craig Ervine, too, as he took his eyes off a Johnson bumper to wear one on the grille and was pinned on the pad in front of middle and leg by the very next ball. With the Umpire unwilling to send him on his way, a successful referral was asked for and Zimbabwe's chase quickly began to slide towards the mire at 44 for 4 in the 13th over.

Williams didn't look particularly comfortable against Johnson either, but he and Chigumbura did at least manage to survive the onslaught and slowly began to rebuild against Australia's second string. The chase derailed completely when Chigumbura gloved Jason Krejza to Haddin for 14 in the 22nd over and Zimbabwe's last hopes evaporated soon after, Williams wafting Tait to slip as the score sank to 96 for 6. Despite some stubborn resistance from Prosper Utseya and Graeme Cremer, there was no coming back from there. 

It had been a different story for Zimbabwe when they were in the field as some disciplined bowling and inspired fielding ensured Australia's batsmen never really got away from them. As has been the case so often in recent times, Shane Watson provided the bulk of the runs at the top of the order with a well-paced 79, while Michael Clarke guided their charge past 250 with an unbeaten 58.

Watson and Haddin made a strangely subdued start, and despite the admirable professionalism shown by Zimbabwe's attack one might have expected more than 28 runs to have come from the first Powerplay. While Chris Mpofu, the only specialist seamer in the side, maintained a disciplined off-stump line, Ray Price shared the new pill and also lived up to his unapologetically brusque reputation, laying into Watson before he'd even faced a ball.

The batsmen finally decided they had had enough of the wait-and-see tactic and broke loose with 17 off Mpofu's sixth over but Zimbabwe struck back when Utseya came on at the end of the first Powerplay. After an exemplary start to his spell - in which not a run was scored for the first nine deliveries he sent down - had his reward when Haddin stepped back to a flighted delivery and was struck in line with middle and leg. Umpire Asoka de Silva thought there might have been an inside edge, but Zimbabwe asked for a review - this being their first ever look at the UDRS - and had the decision over-turned.

After a quiet start to his innings Watson started to strike the ball with ominous force, lifting Cremer into the stands with a brutal pull, before he was removed by Zimbabwe's second fortuitous referral of the day. Stretching forward to a Cremer legbreak, Watson played with more pad than bat to prompt an emotive appeal. This time it was Umpire Richard Kettleborough who decided there was enough doubt to turn it down, but wicketkeeper Tatenda Taibu insisted on a referral and Zimbabwe were rewarded with the result they wanted.

They were given a serious lift in the very next over as Ricky Ponting, in his first full international innings since his return from a finger injury, took on Mpofu's arm with a hard-run second as the ball rolled to midwicket. A pinpoint rocket throw hit the wicket directly to catch him well short to spark wild celebrations from Zimbabwe and with that Australia were 144 for 3. Clarke and Cameron White started their rebuilding effort cautiously and Zimbabwe never let the game get away from them, Mpofu recovering well from a cumbersome start to his spell at the death to rattle White's stumps and reduce Australia to 207 for 4.

David Hussey and Steve Smith came and went in quick succession but gave the innings some oomph while they were at the crease, both clearing the boundary with some powerful strokes. Clarke remained to guide Australia to a total which, while probably not as many as they would have hoped for, still proved far too much for a Zimbabwe line-up with precious little experience of facing express international fast bowling.

My Review of All the teams in 2011 World Cup!

Here is a snappy look at all the test playing teams and their chances at the show piece event which is to be held in India, Srilanka and Bangladesh from 19th, February 2011.

Australia:

Australia may have lost the ashes by a huge margin and convincingly, but there one day form is total opposite. They have thrashed England in the recent ODI series and are still the NO1 side according to the ICC Cricket ratings. Australia have been the most successful team in the World Cup as they have played in the final of the last four and won the last three editions of the biggest event of the game. With Shaun Tait and Bret Lee Australia have a dangerous opening bowler pair. Following them up are Mitchell Johnson and Doug Bollinger. Shane Watson is settled and performing well and John Hastings another allrounder. Brad Haddin ever effective with Tim Paine also included. If Ponting and Micheal Hussey get fit and Micheal Clarke, Cameron White, David Hussey in support added Australia have a strong middle order. Their only concern is the spin bowling department which lacks the edge and their first choice bowler Nathan Hauritz is still injured thing don't look any better. Still Australia are favorites to reach the Semi-Final of the 2011 World Cup.

Squad: Shane Watson, Brad Haddin (WK), Ricky Ponting (Captain), Michael Clarke, Michael Hussey, David Hussey, Cameron White, Tim Paine (wk), Steven Smith, John Hastings, Mitchell Johnson, Nathan Hauritz, Brett Lee, Shaun Tait, Doug Bollinger.

Bangladesh:

Although Bangladesh whitewashed NewZealand 4-0 and beat Zimbabwe 3-1 in their last two series, they are playing on their home turf, they have not as threatening, but good spin bowling attack with Abdul Razzak, yet it is difficult to see them progressing them to the Quarter Final round of the World Cup. Tamim Iqbal and their captain Shakib-al-Hasan will be the most important players for them and Muhammad Ashraful will have to perform well and consistent if Bangladesh are to make any impact in this competition. Although they are capable to upsetting any good team on their day, the more interesting thing will be to see how they perform against the associate teams.

Squad: Shakib Al Hasan (Captain), Tamim Iqbal, Imrul Kayes, Junaid Siddique, Shahriar Nafees, Raqibul Hasan, Mohammad Ashraful, Mushfiqur Rahim (WK), Naeem Islam, Mahmudullah, Abdur Razzak, Rubel Hossain, Shafiul Islam, Nazmul Hossain, Suhrawadi Shuvo.

England:

Just before the ODI series with Australia began everyone would have been sure that England are favorites for the World Cup, but things have turned around particularly quickly. Poor performance against Australia and lots of injuries has haunted England badly. They have in Andrew Strauss an inspirational captain but they don't have a settled opening pair. Matt Prior has been included in the team as an opener and was preferred over Steve Davies at the last time. England middle order has to click with the likes of Kevin Pietersen, Paul Collingwood, Jonathan Trott, Ian Bell they have a few options. Ian Morgan has been s key factor in England's performance in the shorter format and he will be the key. James Andersen, Stuart Broad are the new ball partners and can be dangerous. Their X-Factor along with Ian Morgan will be off spinner Grame Swann who is currently the best spinner in the game.

Squad: Andrew Strauss (Captain), James Anderson, Ian Bell, Tim Bresnan, Stuart Broad, Paul Collingwood, Eoin Morgan, Kevin Pietersen, Matt Prior (WK), Ajmal Shahzad, Graeme Swann, James Tredwell, Jonathan Trott, Luke Wright, Michael Yardy.

India:

India are considered as out and out favorites for the World Cup and rightly so. Although they lost the ODI series in South Africa but that will not matter much as they have a settled side, They have been the most successful team over the past year, they have the most experienced players, most importantly they have the luxury of playing on their home grounds until the very final match and thier spin department is safe with Harbhajan Singh. Sehwag and Gambhir are the most explosive opening pair. Sachin Tendulkar is in the form of his life. Yuvraj Singh, Suresh Raina and Virat Kohli will have to contribute a lot during the middle and latter stages, Mahendra Singh Dhoni will also be a key factor. But the one problem they might have is that they don't have a good bowling partner for Zaheer Khan and also a bowler who can bowl quick and no other specialist spinner of name. yet India are the favorites to reach the finals.

Squad: M.S.Dhoni (Captain & WK), Sachin Tendulkar, Virendra Sehwag, Gautam Gambhir, Yuvraj Singh, Virat Kohli, Yusuf Pathan, Suresh Raina, Harbhajan Singh, Zaheer Khan, R. Ashwin, P.Chawla, Ashish Nehra, Praveen Kumar, Munaf Patel.

New Zealand:

They Enter the World Cup with a good reputation in the previous editions but on the worst form ever. They have lost 13 of their last 14 matches, Including a 0-4 whitewash against Bangladesh. They have just changed their coaching staff, batting order and have tried every possible thing so gain some sort of momentum but have failed. Their most important player will be Brenden McCullum depending on how New Zealand use him. Daniel Vettori has been the lone warrior up till now. Martin Guptill has been in good touch but needs to get big scores. Ross Taylor should also step up and stabilize the middle order which falters a lot. Jessey Ryder will have to give New Zealand a good and fast start. The plus point New Zealand have is their abundance of all rounders. Overall there are not much expectations from them this time.

Squad: Daniel Vettori (Captain), James Franklin, Martin Guptill, Jamie How, Jesse Ryder, Scott Styris, Ross Taylor, Kane Williamson, Luke Woodcock, Nathan McCullum, Brendon McCullum (WK), Kyle Mills, Jacob Oram, Hamish Bennett, Tim Southee.

Pakistan:

Who would have thought that the Pakistani Cricket team will be considered if not the most, still favorites for the World Cup after all of what has happened in the Past year. They have won their first test series after 4 years and first ODI series after almost 2.5 years recently in New Zealand and have looked in great shape and enthusiasm just before the big event. Call it anything Pakistan have perhaps the most well balanced side for the World Cup. They have the young Ahmed Shehzad and M. Hafeez who will open the innings with Wicket Keeper Kamran Akmal also capable of opening the innings. The middle order is also strong with the likes of Younis Khan and Misbah-ul-haq who are the backbone on the team and will have to carry the innings in the middle overs so that Umar Akmal, Shahid Afridi, Abdul Razzaq who are the most dangerous low middle order can explode at will. Sohail Tanvir will have the variety and in Umar Gull, Shoaib Akhtar, Wahab Riaz Pakistan have three bowlers who can bowl around 145mph. The spin attack is also potent with Abdur Rehman and Saeed Ajmal share the load.

Squad: Shahid Afridi (Captain), Misbah-ul-Haq, Mohammad Hafeez, Kamran Akmal (WK), Younis Khan, Asad Shafiq, Umar Akmal, Abdul Razzaq, Abdur Rehman, Saeed Ajmal, Shoaib Akhtar, Umar Gul, Wahab Riaz, Sohail Tanvir, Ahmed Shehzad.

South Africa:

They have perhaps had the most successful build up to the World Cup winning the ODI series Against Zimbabwe, Pakistan and India. Their opening pair looks solid with Grame Smith and Hshim Amla who has been the most successful batsman over the past year. The middle order is also in shape with the likes of Kallis who will be a big factor in holding the innings, AB DeVillers who will keep the wickets, JP Duminy and Colin Ingram. Bowling is also strongest with the likes of Dale Steen and Morne Morkel. South Africa have included the Pakistani born leg spinner Imran Tahir in their squad and heve penned their hopes on him for the spin bowling department. Like always South Africa have all the preparations completed and are yet again one of the favorites but the only weak point which actually turns out to haunt them every time is their ability to Choke at important stages. If they overcome that, then hey sure will finish among the top for at least.

Squad: Graeme Smith (Captain), Hashim Amla, Johan Botha, AB de Villiers (WK), JP Duminy, Faf du Plessis, Colin Ingram, Jacques Kallis, Morne Morkel, Wayne Parnell, Robin Peterson, Dale Steyn, Imran Tahir, Lonwabo Tsotsobe, Morne van Wyk (WK).

Srilanka:

They were the first country to announce the team for the World Cup so that the players can jell together and practice, but they did not get much time for that as rain washed away more than half of the test series and the full one day series as well. Srilanka have not included Sanath Jayasuria and Chaminda Vass in their squad yet they are considered one of the favorites mostly because they also will be playing infront of their home crowd. Muthia Muralitharan and Ajhanta Mendis with Rangna Herath make a strong spin bowling attack, Mahela Jayawardene and Sangakara provide the experience but Srilanka have a weak lower middle order although they have Angelo Mathews later and Tilkarathne Dilshan as an opener who can explode anytime. Lasith Malinga will have their potent up front. Srilanka will some how have to work hard all through the tournament if they are to win it.

Squad: Kumar Sangakkara (Captain & WK), Mahela Jayawardene, Tillakaratne Dilshan, Upul Tharanga, Thilan Samaraweera, Chamara Silva, Chamara Kapugedera, Angelo Mathews, Thisara Perera, Nuwan Kulasekara, Lasith Malinga, Dilhara Fernando, Muttiah Muralitharan, Ajantha Mendis, Rangana Herath.

West Indies:

They have been quiet in their build up to the World Cup. The Inclusion of Ramnaresh Sarawan has strengthened their middle order where Shivnarine Chanderpaul is already present. Chris Gayle will explode at the start with Dwayne Bravo and Kieron Pollard providing the flurry in the dying stages of the innings. West Indies although have some good batsman, but have no good fast bowler who is consistent and the only spinner of note is Suleman Benn who has not been that much successful. They can be considered the underdogs who can on their day play like any good team, but their chances of reaching the end stages are remote.

Squad: Darren Sammy (Captain), Chris Gayle, Dwayne Bravo, Darren Bravo, Kieron Pollard, Ramnaresh Sarwan, Devon Smith, Sulieman Benn, Nikita Miller, Carlton Baugh (WK), Andre Rusell, Ravi Rampaul, Kemar Roach, Shivnarine Chanderpaul, Adrian Barath.