The beauty of the World Cup so far is that it is impossible to predict the outcome, and this trend continues into the quarter-finals with the enigma’s enigma Pakistan taking on the mercurial talents of the West Indies.
This, of course, was meant to be Bangladesh’s home quarter-final but, in spite of their spirited win against England, the co-hosts’ batting proved altogether too flimsy for them to advance. In what was widely thought of before the tournament as a shoot out for the quarter-finals the West Indies bowlers simply blew them away. The cricket mad local public, then, will have to put up with a fascinating looking match instead.
Pakistan seem determined to live up to their billing in every tournament, their form veering from the sublime to the ridiculous. They were excruciatingly bad against New Zealand but managed to beat the two fancied teams in their group in Sri Lanka and Australia. Their fielding has been hilariously bad at times (Australia must feel rather hard done by that Kamran Akmal accepted three chances against them), their death bowling against New Zealand would have made a club side blush and their batting has, at times, looked rather thin but, sustained by the consistent excellence of Umar Gul and Shahid Afridi, on their day they are a match for anyone. If Misbah, Younis Khan and the ebullient Umar Akmal can make enough runs then they should be too strong.
The West Indies have some unquestionably talented individuals. The enigmatic Chris Gayle si a force of nature when the muse is with him, Kieron Pollard can be devastating and Kemar Roach is a fast bowler from the old school. Add the promising leg spin of Devendra Bishoo and the all round talents of the raw Andre Russell and the captain Darren Sammy to the mix and you have the most promising West Indian side for some years. Their problem has been a rather fragile batting line-up that imploded rather spectacularly in each of their last two group games. With Shiv Chanderpaul apparently finally consigned to the sidelines and Ramnaresh Sarwan continuing to flatter to deceive there is no middle order rock around which the others can play, which significantly reduces their chances.
The Verdict: Both sides have glaring weaknesses, but Pakistan will be too strong.
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