West Indies 5 for 273 (Gayle 82, Sarwan 76) lost to Pakistan 4 for 274 (Akmal 124, Inzamam 62*, Malik 60) by 6 wickets

Stranger things have happened in Pakistani cricket, but one thing is certain. After Kamran Akmal's extraordinary performance against the West Indies in the third match of the VB series, it will be extremely difficult for his celebrated seniors Moin Khan and Rashid Latif to stage a comeback.

Put in to bat by Inzamam on what looked a sporting pitch at Brisbane, the West Indian batsmen enjoyed themselves, with Chris Gayle in destructive nick. His 82, a 76 by Sarwan and a murderous 30-ball 39 by Brian Lara took the West Indies to a total of 273-5.

Pakistan commenced its reply through the talented Salman Butt and wicketkeeper-batsman Kamran Akmal, who had done nothing of note in his first five games as opener. In his sixth, he did quite a bit. An innings of 124 at a run-a-ball shattered the morale of the West Indian bowlers, and transformed the pursuit of a formidable target into a walk in the park.

All the middle-order had to do was to consolidate. Butt and Mohammed Hafeez fell early, but the experienced Shoaib Malik and Inzamam-ul-Haq played their parts to perfection. Akmal added 123 with Malik and later 80 with Inzamam to shut the West Indians out of the match.

Pakistan coasted to a six-wicket win with three overs to spare. Their opponents will rue their slow scoring in the initial overs. Only 26 were scored off the first ten overs, after which Gayle went berserk. Only if he had entered an attacking mode earlier in the game, the West Indies' score might well have crossed the 300-mark.