“Keep on doing what you’re doing, Sammy.”
Darren Sammy took the advice of Jamaican reggae singer Ernie Smith to heart yesterday. He took wicket, after wicket, after wicket, after wicket, after wicket.
Five times, starting with the Pakistan captain and danger batsman Misbah ul-Haq (52, six fours, one six) and ending with Saeed Ajmal, the final dismissal of the match, the West Indies captain personally ensured his first Test win, by 40 runs at the National Stadium here yesterday.
“That last wicket . . . it was a proud moment for me and the team,” the skipper later said as he reflected on what was only the West Indies’ first Test victory in 17 matches, stretching back two years to their victory over England at Sabina Park in February, 2009.
It was ironic that Ajmal, the off-spinner who had tormented his side with 11 wickets in a dramatic match which ended midway through the fourth day, should be Sammy’s last victim.
Surely, he would have been the Man-Of-The-Match had it not been for Sammy’s five decisive blows yesterday. The skipper, with a haul of seven for 45 in the game, took the accolades but he would have happily shared it with fellow seamer Ravi Rampaul.
Getting the new ball slot ahead of Fidel Edwards in this match, Rampaul produced the form of his life and best Test figures of 21-6-48-4. It was he – with the wickets of Unkar Akmal and Azhar Ali on the third day Saturday and Asad Shafiq (42, six fours) and Abdur Rehman yesterday – who paved the way for Sammy to do his bit. Because of that, Pakistan were limited to 178 in their second innings, chasing 219.
“All the bowlers knew what they had to do and we went out there and executed the team plan which was to bowl wicket to wicket, build pressure, and we got the result,” Sammy said.
It took patience, however, for the Windies to get that result. Misbah (52, six fours, one six), resuming with Shafiq with Pakistan 80 for three overnight and 139 away from their target, seemed an immovable object for the bulk of the first session that closed on 153 for six.
In that time, the Pakistan skipper had seen a peach of a reverse-swinging Rampaul delivery cut back and smack Shafiq’s middle stump after a partnership that had been worth 80. That happened in the third over of the day.
But Umar Akmal ensured there would be no early morning collapse, keeping his head and adding a further 52 for the fifth wicket with his captain.
First-innings menace, leg-spinner Devendra Bishoo was not allowed to dominate in the way he had first time out and ended wicketless. But Sammy stepped into his breach.
Not as nippy as Rampaul, he was just as deadly on this pitch that played lower and lower, bowling at the stumps. Rampaul and Kemar Roach also attacked that way. And with the score on 135, Sammy removed the big obstacle when Misbah was trapped lbw.
At 163 for eight, only one result seemed possible. And Sammy then delivered the coup de gras, winning the 20th lbw decision of the match—a new Test record—and bowling Ajmal.
“They played better cricket than us. They bowled a really disciplined line and length and I think most of the time they got out the batsmen by good bowling,” Misbah conceded at game’s end.
Misbah led by example yesterday. But it was not going to be enough once his counterpart Sammy did the same.
When Ajmal was dismissed, Sammy celebrated in typical style, dipping on one knee, right fist clenched. For at least the rest of the series perhaps, questions over his worth to this side will stop.
So long as captain Darren keeps doing his do.
