Pakistan cruise into WCL 2024 final after beating West Indies

Pakistan Champions advanced to the final of the World Championship of Legends (WCL) 2024 after beating West Indies Champions by 20 runs at County Ground in Northampton on Friday.

Pakistan bowled out West Indies for 178 in 20 overs after setting a 199-run target in the first semi-final of the WCL 2024.

Batting first, Pakistan Champions skipper Younis Khan scored a brilliant 45-ball 65 while opening batter Kamran Akmal scored 46 off 31 deliveries.

 
Aamer Yameen remained unbeaten at 40 off 18 balls while Sohail Tanvir also added a crucial 33 off 17 deliveries to power Pakistan Champions to 198 for eight in 20 overs.

In replay, West Indies Champions managed to score 178 before being bowled out in 19.5 overs.

Sohail Khan was Pakistan’s best performer with the ball as he bagged four wickets and restricted the West Indies to 178 runs.

West Indies had a slow start as they had just scored seven runs in the first four overs but they soon found the rhythm as Chris Gayle started hitting boundaries in the fifth over.

However, Gayle’s innings did not last long as he was removed by Sohail for 26 runs.

West Indies kept on losing wickets at intervals but Ashley Nurse played a rapid knock of 36 runs on 24 balls, he looked like the man to guide the Windies to chase but he was run out by Kamran Akmal.

Down the order, Rayad Emrit played a 9-ball 29-run innings but he fell prey to Shoaib Malik.

Sohail bagged four while Wahab Riaz and Shoaib Malik got two wickets each.

After being asked to bat first, Pakistan didn’t have a great start as they lost three of their batters — Sharjeel Khan, Sohaib Maqsood and Shoaib Malik — without scoring any valuable runs.

The West Indies team looked on top as the ball was swinging under the clouds but a 77-run partnership between skipper Younis Khan and Kamran Akmal put Pakistan out of danger.

Both the batters looked set on the crease but Akmal ended up losing his wicket after scoring 46 runs on 31 balls with eight fours. Following the wicketkeeper batter’s dismissal, Pakistan lost two more wickets with Shahid Afridi (1) and Misbah-ul-Haq (0) walking back to the pavilion.

Younis was removed by Fidel Edwards after 65 runs, but Pakistan continued to post runs on the scoreboard as Aamer Yahim and Sohail Tanvir formed a 61-run partnership down the order.

Yamin scored 37 on 17 balls while Tanvir contributed 33 on 17 deliveries.

For West Indies, Edwards bagged three, Sulieman Benn got two while Jerome Taylor and Dwayne Smith picked one wicket each.

Ashley Nurse remained the top-scorer for the West Indies Champions with a 24-ball 36 knock in the middle, followed by Rayad Emrit (29) while the rest of the batters made little contributions to help West Indies’ cause to reach the final.

It is pertinent to mention that Pakistan will face either India Champions or leaders Australia Champions in the final of the World Championship of Legends on Saturday in Birmingham.