West Indies and Pakistan sealed the fourth and the third spot respectively from group B to make it to the quarterfinal round of the ICC Cricket World Cup 2015. Pakistan beat Ireland in a virtual knock out match by 7 wickets to qualify as the third team from the group. In the process they helped West Indies to qualify as the last team from Group B.
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Ireland rode on captain William Porterfield’s first world cup century to post a target of 238 for the Pakistanis. No other batsman really supported Porterfield (107), otherwise Ireland could have got past the 250-run mark. Also the Pakistani pacers bowled decently to restrict Ireland to such a total. Pakistan batsmen also played with responsibility as Ahmad Shehzad and Sarfraz Ahmed gave a solid start while chasing. Shehzad went for 63 while Sarfraz stayed unbeaten till the end scoring a useful 101. Misbah Ul Haq scored a calming 39 in the middle and in the end Umar Akmal (20*) came in to see Pakistan through to the next round.
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Earlier in the day West Indies had it comparatively easy against United Arab Emirates. West Indies were playing without Chris Gayle yet they did not face much difficulty in beating UAE. Their captain Jason Holder led the way with a good bowling performance returning with the figures of 27/4 in 10 overs. Jerome Taylor picked up 3 wickets and the job was half done by getting UAE bowled for 175. West Indies chased down the target of 176 runs in 30.3 overs thanks to Johnson Charles’s 40-ball 55 and Jonathan Carter’s 58-ball 55. In the end it was a win by 6 wickets that saw the two time world champions getting two crucial points. Still they were not confirmed of their place in the quarters. Had Pakistan and Ireland played out a tie or had the match been called off due to bad weather, West Indies would have been ousted from the group stages. However that did not happen and both Pakistan and West Indies went through to the next round at the expense of Ireland, who equally deserved to be in the next round.
In the quarters, West Indies will be up against New Zealand in the first quarter final which will be a real test for the Carribeans. On the other hand, Pakistan will face Australia at Adelaide in their quarter final match. Both these teams will have to be on their toes as they will face two favourites as well the hosts of the ICC Cricket World Cup 2015.
