Pakistan took an early grip on the first quarter-final in Dhaka after Mohammad Hafeez proved the surprise package with the new ball to take two wickets as West Indies limped to 60
for 4 in 25 overs. Umar Gul struck the major blow to remove Chris Gayle, and then Hafeez's arm balls made inroads, leaving Ramnaresh Sarwan and the recalled Shivnarine Chanderpaul to grind out a 42-run stand, only for Sarwan to carve to cover against Shahid Afridi.Some early aggression from West Indies was a false dawn. 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 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 without barely turning a 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 a 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.
After the problems with their top order West Indies will be relieved they packed the side with batsmen. Andre Russell was the most surprising omission after two promising displays against England and India while Sulieman Benn also lost his place.
