Pakistan beat West Indies in their opening match of the Over 60s World Cup being played in Brisbane, Australia. According to a communique here on Tuesday, the triumph against West Indies Masters marked the beginning of Pakistan Veteran’s World Cup campaign.
West Indies after winning the toss decided to put Pakistan into batting first. Pakistan Over 60s team accumulated a total of 216 runs, before were all-out in the penultimate over of the innings. Tahir Rashid was top scorer with an impressive innings of 58. He alongside Saghir Abbas added 84 runs for the fifth wicket stand. Babar Ali Basharat & Muhammad Ashraf Pakhali also chipped in with steady knocks of 37 and 36 respectively. Hafiz Mohammed was the pick of the bowlers from the Caribbean brigade, bagging 4 wickets for 23 runs in his spell of six overs.
Early strikes from the Pakistani bowlers jolted the West Indian chase. A good line and length from almost every bowler further pegged back the West Indian batting lineup as they remained behind the chase for most part of their innings. Only Richard Sieuchan offered some resistance with a half-century to his name.
Ultimately, West Indies managed 193 runs for the loss of 9 wickets in the assigned 45 overs, giving Pakistan Veterans a victory by 23 runs. Tahir Rashid was nominated as ‘Player of the Match’ for his invaluable contribution with the bat. New Zealand are regarded as the toughest opponents for Pakistan and beat South Africa by 106 runs the previous day in another match. In another match in Pool B, the Rest of the World team got the better of USA, winning the match by a huge margin of 112 runs.
In other matches played in Pool A, Australia comprehensively defeated the Canadian side by 9 wickets; Wales beat Sri Lanka by 2 wickets in a close game while India were given a scare by Zimbabwe defending only 122 and won by 3 wickets.—APP
