Having eased to a win in the first T20I, Pakistan also came out victorious in the second game of the three-match series on December 14 against the West Indies. The hosts had to fight a lot more for their win this time, though, as the visitors fell short by just 9 runs in Karachi.
In the end, it was another pleasing series victory for Babar Azam and his men as they kickstarted the home season in a winning fashion. For WI, another painful reminder of the gap between them and the hosts in those conditions.
This time Pakistan won the toss and opted to bat first. The home side went on to post a significant score of 172/8. None of their batters made a big score as they got starts but failed to build on to something gigantic. But an even spread of thirties from Mohammad Rizwan (38), Haider Ali (31) and Iftikhar Ahmed (32) and some useful end-overs blitz from Shadab Khan (28*) allowed them to reach past 170.
Once again, left-arm spinner Akeal Hosein (1/16) was terrific with the ball for the West Indies, who would’ve been pleased that the rest also held up better than they did the previous night. This, including Hayden Walsh (1/30) and Odean Smith (2/24).
In the run-chase, however, WI failed to come up with a collective performance. Opening batter Brandon King was their top-scorer with a finely compiled 67 off 43 balls. But the big problem for them was that, apart from King, only one other of their batters reached the 30-run mark.
That was Romario Shepherd with an encouraging 35 not out off 19 balls. But the rest simply couldn’t hold their own against some quality Pakistan bowling.
Shaheen Afridi was in his element and ended with a three-fer (3/26). Pakistan also had Shadab deliver an economical spell of 0/22. Amongst the rest, Mohammad Nawaz (2/36), Mohammad Wasim Jr (2/39) and Haris Rauf (2/40) were a touch expensive but took two wickets each.
Brief scores
Pakistan 172/8 in 20 overs (Rizwan 38, Ahmed 32; Smith 2/24) beat West Indies 163/10 in 20 overs (King 67, Shephard 35*; Afridi 3/26) by 9 runs
