Pakistan cruise to victory over West Indies in fourth ODI

Misbah-ul-Haq`s unbeaten half-century steered Pakistan to a six-wicket victory over West Indies in their rain-affected fourth one day international on Sunday.

Cape Town: Misbah-ul-Haq`s unbeaten half-century steered Pakistan to a six-wicket victory over West Indies in their rain-affected fourth one day international at the Beausejour Stadium in St Lucia on Sunday.

An unbeaten hundred from Marlon Samuels had helped the home side post 261 for seven in their innings that had been reduced to 49 overs by rain. But after more bad weather, the Pakistan innings was cut to 31 overs and they chased down their revised target on the Duckworth-Lewis method of 189 with ease. Misbah (53 not out) saw his side to the win having been involved in a vital 72-run stand with Mohammad Hafeez (59) for the third wicket that turned the game in Pakistan`s favour. He was supported in the closing overs by Umar Akmal (29 not out) as the pair scored the last 45 runs off just 28 balls. "We are very pleased," Misbah said in a TV interview. "It was like a normal T20 game, Hafeez and I wanted to play normal cricketing shots. It was just a case of not panicking. We needed eight an over and I had to adjust. The team will gain momentum from today." Samuels looked to have put West Indies in a winning position when he bludgeoned 106 not out from 104 balls, his fifth one day international century. Chris Gayle, dropped to number five in the West Indies order after his battles with the new ball in the opening three matches of the series, provided good support to Samuels with a well-constructed 30 from 46 balls, while Lendl Simmons (46) continued his fine recent form. "It was a great batting display by us and Marlon," West Indies captain Dwayne Bravo said. "I`m very disappointed we didn`t win the game for him. Our main bowlers had already bowled five overs (before the rain break) and I could have done a lot better, it was always us against a very good batting line-up." Pakistan have now ensured they cannot lose the five-match series and go into the final game on Wednesday with a 2-1 lead. Reuters