Pakistan beat WI 3-1 in ODI Series

Yes, it has been a while since I've posted, but I will attempt, over the next few days to try to bring some sense of set up for the upcoming World Cup, where all attention is being focused.

In a fairly convincing display, Pakistan beat the WI 3 - 1 over the course of 5 ODIs.

Pakistan found every way to win, and lose, over the past 4 matches. The first ODI was a battle of wills, and it was Inzamam's which was more dominant, leading Pakistan to a hard fought 2 wicket win, with 16 balls left in the match. It also brought to Pakistan, for the first time since Saqlain Mushtaq, a spinner who can take wickets and be economical in ODIs, Abdur Rehman. The next match saw some aggressive scoring by the Pakistanis, coupled with strong bowling displays from Rana Naved and Abdur Rehman. Imran Farhat and Abdur Rehman did well to score as they did, and Kamran Akmal had a better showing higher up the order. Then, with Yousuf, Younis and Inzamam all missing for the third match, the wheels came off, with Pakistan losing to the WI by 7 wickets. Bright spots though, were strong showings from Yasir Hameed and Faisal Iqbal, with Rana Naved continuing the trend of tight bowling with crucial wicket. The fourth match reemphasized all these issues, with strong bowling displays from Naved and Abdur Rehman, and an impressive batting display from Mohammad Hafeez, Kamran Akmal and Yasir Hameed.

Mohammad Hafeez may not have been the find of this series, but in many ways he is showing himself to be indispensable to the Pakistani team's future plans with consistent, if unspectacular displays. From the standpoint of the bowling, Rana Naved has finally come back to form in this series, doing well enough to take the player of the series award. Abdur Rehman though, has shown himself to be quiet the bowler, and he will be hard to turn away from in the future.