Pakistan vs. West Indies: Stats and Trivia – ICC World Cup 2011
Pakistan is all set to take on the West Indies in their crucial quarter-final match on 23 March at the Shere Bangla National Stadium in Mirpur. Both teams are looking to put in a good performance, as this is the knock-out stage, with the winner advancing and the loser going home. Pakistan is coming into this game with some winning momentum, having won their last two matches, as the West Indies has lost two in a row.
The pitch conditions in Mirpur is known for being a batting-friendly wicket and with the kind of depth both teams have in their line-up, a huge scoring game can be anticipated. The highest score ever made in 50-over game at the venue is 370, which was put up by India in the very first game of ICC World Cup 2011 against Bangladesh.
The first ever One Day International between Pakistan and the West Indies was played in 1975 and since then, they have played 114 ODI matches against each other. Out of these 114 matches, West Indians have won 64 matches, as Pakistan succeeded in 48. Pakistan’s lowest ever ODI score of 43 all out, came against the Caribbean.
In their eight head-to-head contests in World Cup matches, the Windies have six games to their credit, as Pakistan has taken two. The only time both teams faced each other in Bangladesh was won by West Indies in the fourth quarter-final of the Wills International Cup in 1998.
Shahid Afridi is leading the chart of the highest wicket-taker in the ongoing mega event, but he has never scored a half-century in the World Cup matches. The Pakistani skipper has struck 289 sixes in ODIs, the most by any player in the history of this format. The Pakistan’s Misbah-ul-Haq needs 51 runs to complete his 2000 runs in ODIs and he has yet to make his first century in 50-over cricket.
Abdur Rehman has never picked up more than two wickets in an ODI and his bowling figures of 2 for 20 came against the West Indies. Kamran Akmal has 31 ODI sixes to his credit and he has yet to hit his first six in the World Cup. Kamran made his best ODI score of 124 against the Windies.
Shoaib Akhtar needs three more wickets to complete his 250 wickets in one-day cricket, the milestone he would like to reach before his retirement. In his seven matches against the Caribbean, he scored just a single run with the bat. If Umar Gul manages to take three wickets against the West Indies, it will be his hat-trick of getting three wickets in three consecutive games.
The West Indies entered the tournament without a single victory against a Test team in 20 months, but they have won three of their last six games in the World Cup. Shivnarine Chanderpaul is 66 runs short of the 1000 run mark in the mega event, as the Windies’ opener Devon Smith needs 26 runs to complete his 1000 runs in the 50-over cricket.
Ravi Rampaul played his first World Cup match against India, where he picked up five wickets for 51 runs, the best World Cup debut for any West Indian bowler. Caribbean all-rounder, Kieron Pollard has a strike rate of 145 in five innings that he has played in the tournament up until now.
The West Indies have won the World Cup twice, and they are geared up to do one more time, as Pakistan is looking for a repeat of the performance they showed in 1992.
The knockout stage means a ‘do or die’ situation and with these two talented teams, the spectators will be in for a treat as the team fight it out at the Shere Bangla cricket ground.
