Captain and leg-spinner Shahid Afridi inspired his Pakistan side to a superb fielding display, after the West Indies won the toss and elected to bat.
Afridi recorded figures of four wickets for 30 runs as the Windies crashed to just 112 all out in 44 overs -- their third-lowest score in World Cup history.
Off-spinners Mohammad Hafeez and Saeed Ajmal also took two wickets apiece with only veteran batsman Shivnarine Chanderpaul managing to hold firm against the Pakistan spin demons, making 44 not out from 106 deliveries.
In reply, Hameez (61) and Kamran Akmal (47) cruised to the target with more than 29 overs to spare -- guiding Pakistan to their first World Cup semifinal since 1999.
At one stage, West Indies were in danger of making their lowest-ever World Cup total, when struggling on 71-8.
I have never ever thought about retirement or where the finish line might be
--Ricky Ponting
RELATED TOPICS
Cricket World Cup
Shahid Afridi
Ricky Ponting
Pakistan Cricket Board
West Indies Cricket Board
However, a 40-run partnership between Kemar Roach and Chanderpaul helped them better their worse score of 93 against Kenya in 1996.
Meanwhile, Australian captain Ricky Ponting has denied media reports that he is set to quit international cricket.
The International Cricket Council (ICC) official website reported Ponting as saying: "I have never ever thought about retirement or where the finish line might be.
"I've been trying to prepare myself as best I can as a player and lead the team as well as possible. For some reason, these retirement things keep popping up all the time.
"We've got a big game coming up against India that I'm looking forward to, and more importantly I'm looking forward to getting out there and performing well as a player."
Australia will face India in an explosive-looking quarterfinal showdown in Ahmedabad on Thursday.
COMMENT: That the team of pakistan past to the semifinals of the World Cup
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