Russell was named Man of the Match for scoring an unbeaten 42 and taking three wickets
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A spectacular all-round performance by the West Indies led to them pummelling Pakistan by 150 runs at the Hagley Oval in Christchurch.
Denesh Ramdin, Lendl Simmons and Andre Russell all starred with the bat as they made 51, 50 and 42 not out respectively, while Russell and Jerome Taylor excelled with the ball as they took three wickets apiece.
However, Pakistan’s batting duo of Umar Akmal and Shoaib Maqsood deserve some credit as they scored 59 and 50 respectively.
Pakistan captain Misbah-ul-Haq would have been pleased with his decision to bowl first after West Indies opener Chris Gayle was caught by Wahab Riaz at long leg off the bowling of Mohammad Irfan for four runs.
Dwayne Smith managed to make 23 runs before he was caught by Haris Sohail at second slip off the bowling of Sohail Khan.
Marlon Samuels and Darren Bravo stabilised the innings with a 75-run partnership before Samuels was caught by Yasir Shah, who was the substitute fielder, at long-off off the bowling of Sohail for 38.
Bravo went on to make 49 runs before he retired hurt with a hamstring injury.
Ramdin smashed 51 runs off 43 balls, which included seven boundaries, before he was caught by Shah at long-off off the bowling of Sohail.
Ramdin played some spectacular shots during his knock of 51
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Simmons and Darren Sammy steadied the innings with a 65-run partnership before Sammy was caught by Shahid Afridi at backward point off the bowling of Riaz for 30.
Simmons and Russell kept the runs flowing with a 51-run partnership, during which Simmons brought up his half-century, before he was run out by Sohail Khan.
Simmons’ brilliant knock of 50 came off 46 deliveries and included four boundaries and two sixes.
Simmons hit four boundaries and two sixes during his innings of 50
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Thanks to Russell’s unbeaten knock of 42, which came off 13 balls and included three boundaries and four sixes, the West Indies finished on 310/6 off their 50 overs.
Sohail was the pick of the bowlers with two wickets, while Irfan, Khan and Riaz chipped in with one wicket apiece.
Chasing 311 to win, Pakistan got off to a horrible start as they lost their top five batsmen for just 25 runs.
Maqsood and Akmal stemmed the bleeding with an 80-run partnership, during which Maqsood registered his half-century, before he was caught by Sulieman Benn at mid-on off the bowling of Sammy.
Maqsood’s solid knock of 50 came off 66 deliveries and included four boundaries and a six.
Maqsood scored a valiant 50
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Akmal ended up making 59 off 71 balls, which included five boundaries and a six, before he was caught by Smith off the bowling of Russell.
Akmal made a gutsy 59
Image courtesy of: ESPNcricinfo
Following Akmal’s dismissal, Pakistan’s lower order collapsed as they went from 139/7 to being bowled out for 160.
Taylor and Russell snapped up three wickets apiece, while Benn took two and Sammy and West Indies captain Jason Holder claimed one wicket each.
Ul-Haq was disgusted with his team’s performance, and said: “Tough day, especially after winning the toss. There was a little bit in the pitch, [but we] could not really exploit that. Gave away too many runs in the last few overs. Last two games, the boys bowled really well in the death overs. You could say credit should be given to the West Indians, they really cashed in in the last 5-6 overs. Sometimes lack of confidence just does wonders like that. The guys up front are struggling a little bit.
“First 10 overs, in New Zealand conditions, it was seaming a little bit, they bowled really well, we could not negotiate the new ball. It’s always difficult. Performances like that can dent you, damage you, we have some time, next game is nine days away. We need to really recover mentally and think about our game. This is how World Cups are. You have to pick yourself up, think about your strategies, think about where you can improve. They are in good form, they batted well in the practice games, that’s a positive for us. But we need to perform as a team, one or two performances will not win it for you.”
Holder was delighted to have won, and said: “Wonderful performance, we batted really well. Russell and Sammy and Simmons and Ramdin really put their hand up at the end. Jerome Taylor bowled brilliantly and I supported him well, and we applied a lot of pressure with those early wickets. We lost the first game and we needed to make amends here, really pleased we did that.”
Russell was named Man of the Match, and said: “The way the game was set up was perfect for me to finish the innings off. Well done to the batters, they did a good job in the middle. The start from Jerome Taylor and Jason Holder, the platform was set up perfectly for me again.”