West Indies down Pakistan

Georgetown - West Indies captain Darren Sammy took 5-29 on Sunday to spur his team to an emotional 40-run victory over Pakistan in the opening Test.

The visitors, 80-3 overnight in pursuit of a victory target of 219, were bowled out for 178 midway through the second session on day four as the West Indies won their first Test match since Feb. 2009.

Sammy's medium pace caused havoc on a deteriorating pitch while the brisker Ravi Rampaul supplied important support with 4-48 at the National Stadium, Providence.

Skipper Misbah-ul-Haq led Pakistan with 52, the highest score of the match, while Umar Akmal (47) and Asad Shafiq (42) provided the only other resistance.

The West Indies take a 1-0 lead in the two-match series with the second Test beginning next Friday at Warner Park in St. Kitts.

The 27-year-old Sammy, in his fourth Test as captain, was thrilled about claiming his first victory.

"It's a good feeling. This is all about West Indies cricket. We, as a team, needed that performance," he said.

Sammy identified his team's spirited lower order batting on the third day as a key factor in a tense match.

"I have to commend the effort from the boys, every single person that batted on that hard wicket, from the partnership by (Devendra) Bishoo and Shiv (Chanderpaul) right down at the end, it showed it was a total team effort to come out on the winning side of things."

Bishoo and Chanderpaul pulled the hosts out of the mire from 104-9 in their second innings with a last wicket stand of 48 to set Pakistan a testing target.

"It was about applying ourselves out there," Sammy added. "We saw from day one the wicket was quite difficult."

Sammy said the secret to his own success with the ball was straightforward.

"It was to bowl straight and I think we stuck to that throughout the Test match and hence we came out victorious."

He said self-belief helped him get through a bit of a lean period to inspire this success.

"I know lately things have not been going too well for me but I still have the belief and my teammates still have belief in me to go out there and do well. Today, I showed that once you believe you can achieve."

Misbah paid tribute to the hosts' bowlers after a morale-sapping loss.

"To lose a Test match is always disappointing. But I think they played better cricket than us," he said. "Especially, they bowled really disciplined lines and most of the times, they got out the batsmen by good bowling."

Rampaul gave the hosts a dazzling start when he removed Asad Shafiq in the third over of the day.

Shafiq, who on Saturday helped Misbah fashion a restorative fourth wicket partnership worth 81, was bowled by a delivery that nipped back a long way.

Misbah found another solid ally in Akmal and the pair added a further 52 to tilt the balance back to Pakistan.

The 27-year-old Sammy ended that resistance with a double strike that brought his side right back into the contest.

Misbah, who hit six fours and one six during 162 deliveries and 218 minutes at the crease, was out leg before wicket to another one that cut back in.

The captain, sensing the importance of his wicket, sought a reprieve on the Decision Review System, but was unsuccessful.

Two balls later, Sammy was leaping in delight again as wicket-keeper Mohammad Salman was also out lbw, the 18th such dismissal in the match.

That figure broke the record for most lbws in a match, the previous mark of 17 also between these teams at Port-of-Spain's Queen's Park Oval, back in 1993.

Akmal and Abdur Rehman, who added 50 in the first innings, stopped the rot in an stand of 25 either side of the lunch.

But Rampaul returned after the break with a decisive strike to pry out Rehman for 6. The left-hander edged a drive to second slip where Devon Smith pouched a fine, low catch.

Sammy then took over with his probing wicket-to-wicket line proving too much for the tourists.

Umar Gul played across the line and was also out lbw, and the same fate ended the defiance of Akmal, Pakistan's last realistic hope, making it 20 lbws in the match.

Wahab Riaz threw his bat briefly in an unbeaten 11 but Sammy wrapped up the match when he rattled the stumps of last man Saeed Ajmal with yet another pinpoint in-dipper.

Sammy's performance earned him the Man of the Match ahead of Ajmal, whose 11-111 kept Pakistan in the hunt.