Windies reach Twenty20 semis

LONDON – Pakistan and West Indies joined South Africa in the World Twenty20 semi-finals on Monday as England’s hopes were washed away at the Oval.

Pakistan booked their place in the last four and ended Ireland’s slim hopes of qualifying with a 39-run victory.Younus Khan’s team made 159 for five and then held Ireland to 120 for nine, with off-spinner Saeed Ajmal taking four wickets for 19 runs.Opener Kamran Akmal’s 57 was the cornerstone of Pakistan’s total in an innings where Ireland off-spinner Kyle McCallan again proved his worth with two wickets for 26 runs.Although pleased Pakistan were in the last four, Younus said their batting required improvement.’We were still 20 runs short. It’s not possible all the time to score 150 and restrict the opposition,’ he said.’Especially against teams like South Africa and the West Indies, we need 170 plus.’Later Monday, Ramnaresh Sarwan and Shivnarine Chanderpaul steered the West Indies into the semi-finals at England’s expense as they beat the hosts by five wickets on the Duckworth/Lewis method.West Indies, set a revised target of 80 in nine overs because of rain, finished on 82 for five with four balls to spare to triumph in a Super Eights match where the winners knew they were going through to the last four.Sarwan was 19 not out and Chanderpaul 17 not out, their unbroken stand worth 37 after West Indies had been wobbling at 45 for five in the sixth over.England, who put out defending champions India on Sunday at Lord’s, made 161 for six in their full 20 overs.Ravi Bopara top-scored with 55 but no other batsman made more than Kevin Pietersen’s 31.West Indies captain Chris Gayle saluted Sarwan and Chanderpaul.’It was great to have the senior guys there. They have the experience and worked the ball around well,’ said Gayle.Man of the match Sarwan admitted his partnership with Chanderpaul kept England on the back foot.’We were pretty confident of getting the runs. We tried not to panic and concentrated on getting the bad ball away,’ he said.’Also the left-hander, right-hander combination meant they had to keep changing line and length. That confused them.’England captain Paul Collingwood, whose team had lost the opening match of the tournament to the Netherlands, believes his squad are getting better at Twenty20.The final last-four place was due to be decided yesterday between Sri Lanka and New Zealand at Trent Bridge. – Nampa-AFP