London, June 8 (IANS) Kemar Roach put on a stunning display of fast bowling as former champions the West Indies started their Champions Trophy campaign with a two-wicket win over Pakistan in a Group B match at the Kennington Oval here Friday.
Roach (3/28) struck thrice inside six overs to restrict Pakistan to 170 all out in 48 overs. Spinner Sunil Narine also bowled well for his three wickets for 34 runs.
Had it not been for the valiant efforts by skipper Misbah-ul-Haq (96) and Nasir Jamshed (50), the only two batsmen to reach double figures, Pakistan would have suffered the ignominy of being skittled out for less than 100 runs.
Chris Gayle top scored with 39 while Marlon Samuels and Kieron Pollard struck 30 each as West Indies chased down the target scoring 172 for eight in 40.4 overs.
Towering fast bowler Mohammad Irfan (3/32) struck twice in his consecutive overs that left West Indies at 15 for two in the fifth over.
But Gayle held one end up. It was a measured knock by Gayle, who struck four fours and a six on his 47-ball knock, as runs were hard to come by. Gayle’s middle stumps were knocked off by Saeed Ajmal (2/38) as the Jamaican tried to hit the offie straight over his head.
It triggered a mini collapse and West Indies lost three quick wickets for just 16 runs. From 78 for two they slumped to 94 for five after Ramnaresh Sarwan (1) and Samuels followed Gayle soon to the pavilion.
Pollard and skipper Dwayne Bravo (19) stitched a 43-run stand for the sixth wicket to take West Indies close to a sniffing distance. But again the duo departed in quick successions before Denesh Ramdin (11 not out) and Narine (11) took the team home safely.
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