Pakistan Cricket fans celebrate victory

LAHORE – Cricket enthusiasts enjoyed the one of the Cricket World Cup 2011 match played between Pakistan and West Indies on a big screen in a Cricket Mania here at the SozoWorld Cinema organised jointly by Nawa-i-Waqt Group and SozoWorld Cinema.
There was a big crowd rushed to the SozoWorld Cinema and enjoyed the match a lot on a big screen. After the victory, they started dancing, chanting slogans “Pakistan Zindabad” and greeted each other.
The fans also appreciated the Nawa-i-Waqt Group and SozoWorld’s effort of showing World Cup matches on big screens and said that it was a big-margin win against West Indies. They are very happy that Pakistan is just two-match away to clinch the World Cup trophy. This win is a gift for nation on the eve of Pakistan Day.
When a local cricket fan Ammarah Zareen was asked about to express her views, she replied: “Yahoo… we won the match. It was the best winning game for Pakistan. Defeating West Indies appeared an easy task since in the last match in which the team make history by whacking Australia. This is motivational and has raised anticipations to win the World Cup, yet the spirit of other strong teams, like South Africa must not be underestimated. As for Boom Boom Afridi, he needs to calm down on the field and need to rush for six in the first few balls. He should focus on continuity of batting. Pakistan can definitely reach and win the final if the team maintained its winning attitude.”
M Ali Nasir Chishti commented: “Pakistan had crossed a major hurdle in its way to become a world champion by defeating West Indies with a big margin and also gave a message to other cricketing nations that Pakistan is not an easy team to be defeated. I wish Pakistani team all the best for semi-final and final.”

Pakistan cricket team has "no security concerns about going to India" for World Cup semis: Waqar

The Pakistan cricket team has no security concerns over going to India for their World Cup semi-final at Mohali on March 30, coach Waqar Younis has said, adding that he is in fact happy to visit the neighbouring country.
"We have to go wherever the tournament schedule takes us. We have no security concerns about going to India. It's good to go to a neighbouring country. I am happy to go to India," The Nation quoted Waqar, as telling reporters after his team thrashed the West Indies by 10 wickets in their quarterfinal match at the Sher-e-Bangla stadium.
He said that Pakistan had toured India in 1999 when the relations between both countries were not that good. "Now things are far better," he added.
Waqar felt that Pakistan would not get the same backing from the Indian crowd as they got in Bangladesh and Sri Lanka, but expected the presence of Pakistani fans in the Mohali stadium.
"We won't get crowd support like here or Sri Lanka but some people might cross the border to see us play. We have to play wherever the tournament takes us. We are not concerned by security," he said.
Pakistan may encounter archrivals India in the semi-final stage, if the co-hosts beat Australia in Thursday's quarterfinal in Ahmedabad.

Statistical highlights of Pakistan vs West Indies World Cup match

# Pakistan's 10-wicket win is their first at the World Cup.
# Pakistan's triumph with 175 balls to spare against West Indies is their biggest in terms of balls remaining, outstripping their victory against Canada with 119 balls to spare at Leeds on June 9, 1979.
# West Indies recorded their largest defeat in the history of the World Cup.
# Mohammad Hafeez got his first Man of the Match award in the World Cup. It is his fourth in ODIs.
# Hafeez's eighth half-century in limited overs Internationals is his first at the World Cup. His previous best at the World Cup was 49 against Zimbabwe at Pallekele on March 14, 2011.
# Pakistan posted their third win in nine games against West Indies at the World Cup - their last victory was at Bristol on May 16, 1999.
# West Indies (112) posted their lowest total against Pakistan at the World Cup - their third lowest overall, behind 93 against Kenya at Pune on February 29, 1996 and 110 against Australia at Manchester on May 30, 1999.
# For the sixth time, Pakistan have reached semifinal, emulating the record held by Australia.
# Umar Gul took his wickets' tally in the World Cup to 18 at an average of 15.27 in 10 games.
# Umar's tally of 14 wickets at 14.50 in seven matches is the second highest for Pakistan in the present World Cup competition.
# Pakistan registered their third win by ten wickets in ODIs - one each against New Zealand, Bangladesh and West Indies.
# For West Indies, the ten-wicket defeat is the fourth suffered by them in ODIs - one each against England, Australia, Pakistan and India
# Kamran Akmal's unbeaten 47 off 61 balls is his second best innings at the World Cup - his best is 55 against Kenya at Hambantota.
# Devon Smith, playing in his seventh match, has become the first West Indian to aggregate 300 runs (ave.42.85) in the 2011 edition of the World Cup.
# Shahid Afridi became the first bowler to register the feat of producing four instances of four wickets or more in a single edition of the World Cup.
# Afridi, with his tally of 21 wickets at 10.71 runs apiece in seven matches in the present tounament, has set two records - most wickets by a Pakistani bowler in a World Cup competition apart from most wickets by a captain in a single edition at the World Cup.
# Kamran Akmal and Mohammad Hafeez, with their 113-run unbroken partnership, have set a World Cup record for Pakistan for the opening wicket against West Indies.
# Shahid Afridi has become the first bowler to record two instances each of five-wicket and four-wicket hauls at the World Cup overall. Shane Warne and Muttiah Muralitharan have produced four instances of four wicket-hauls at the World Cup.
# Afridi (4/30) registered his best bowling figures against West Indies in ODIs, bettering the 4 for 38 at Gros Islet on May 21, 2005.
# Hafeez's economy rate of 1.60 (10-3-16-2) is the best by a bowler in the present competition (minimum 30 balls).

Zardari, Gilani congratulate Pakistan cricket team on reaching World Cup semifinal

Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani have congratulated the national cricket team on its big-margin win against West Indies in the 2011 World Cup quarterfinal match at Mirpur, Bangladesh.
Both Zardari and Gilani commended all members of the Pakistan team on their excellent performance, and expressed the hope that they would play with the same zeal in the remaining World Cup matches, The Nation reports.
Pakistan Muslim League (N) Nawaz Sharif, Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif, PML (Q) President Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain and senior leader Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi also felicitated the Pakistan team for their brilliant performance in the match.
Skipper Shahid Afridi spearheaded a spin assault on West Indies on Wednesday, taking four wickets for 30 runs, leading Pakistan to a 10-wicket victory to reach the World Cup semifinal for the first time since 1999.
It has been a remarkable comeback for Pakistan, which had been knocked out in the first round of the last World Cup four years ago, and had been engulfed by a number of controversies- including the spot-fixing scandal that surfaced last August- that resulted in a ban on three key Pakistani players last month.
Cricket lovers in the country celebrated their team's victory as many of them came out on roads to celebrate the triumph, which coincided with the Pakistan Day.
Some of them were seen distributing sweets among the fans as they congratulated and greeted the Pakistan team on their superb and fantastic win against West Indies, hoping that their team will bring the World Cup trophy home and make the nation proud.