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The dark days of Pakistani cricket ended in a blaze of sunshine in Abu Dhabi.
Eager to return after being isolated for much of this year, Pakistan capped their comeback by whitewashing the West Indies 3-0 at the neutral venue.
It wasn't easy in unknown conditions. The West Indies were also ready for a fight and in the end gave in entirely due to their shortcomings.
Pakistan played very good cricket after a long time. The pressure situations were handled well and there was urgency in whatever they did. There was also unity which was often missing.
Much-maligned Shoaib Malik played his part to perfection. With critics and former and current players questioning his ability to lead, Malik's riposte was perfect.
The tournament did not get off to a good start with veteran Pakistan batsman Mohammed Yousuf opting to play in the rebel Indian Cricket League.
Yousuf's claim that Pakistan cannot do without him was answered positively with the middle-order delivering the goods.
Though Salman Butt's weaknesses were exposed by the West Indies pacemen, newcomer Khurram Mansoor stepped in to give solidity to the upper order.
Younis Khan was the star of the Pakistan line-up and his free flowing batting was a treat to watch. Malik played a key role with both bat and ball in the first one-dayer and continued to make useful contributions.
Though Afridi continued his woeful form with the bat, Misbah-ul-Haq and wicketkeeper Kamran Akmal made up for it. Akmal blasted Pakistan to victory in the last over in the first one-dayer and played usefully in the other two matches.
With Shoaib Akhtar sidelined due to injury, the other Pakistani pacemen raised the bar and proved potent.
West Indies will be wondering what goes wrong with them every time they show promise. The team had a chance to win all the one-dayers but it was squandered due to inexperience and lack of application.
The new boys in the West Indies team are not learning quickly. This could be blamed on the poor first-class cricket set-up in the country.
It was always left to the Big Boys to do the job once again. Captain Chris Gayle, Shivnaraine Chanderpaul and Ramnaresh Sarwan at one time or the other made major contributions to set up the match for the team.
But the middle and lower middle order just caved in without a fight. That let down the bowling which was fairly decent and penetrative except at the death.
The fielding was woeful and wicketkeeper Carlton Baugh was a big disappointment.
The critics will now be waxing lyrical about how good the Pakistan team is and that Malik is the best man to lead the team. Malik and his teammates would do well to consign such hollow eulogies to the bin.
Pakistan cricket seems to be on a good wicket now. Support from all sides will be the order of the day if Pakistan cricket has to move into fourth gear once again.
