Mohammad Rizwan and Babar Azam once again laid the platform with the bat at the top of the order as Pakistan got to 157/8 in their 20 overs. The West Indies top-order couldn’t get going and were sluggish right throughout. It was only Nicholas Pooran who kept them in the hunt, but even his unbeaten 62 couldn’t help them get over the line.
It was a close game in the end as Pooran’s brutal hitting got West Indies within touching distance of the target of 158. However, the wicket-keeper batsman had no support whatsoever from the other batters as Pakistan bowled smartly on a sluggish track to earn a seven-run win.
After being put into bat first, Pakistan got off to a fast start as they notched up 55/1 in the powerplay. Sharjeel Khan opened the batting alongside Rizwan. The former got 20 before Holder got rid of him. The opening stand was worth 46 runs before Babar Azam and Rizwan shared a solid 67-run stand for the second wicket to lay the platform for Pakistan.
Rizwan was out for 46 while the Pakistan skipper scored 51 as the duo were dismissed in the space of two overs. Pakistan couldn’t put their foot down and accelerate in the end overs as the middle-order once again failed to make a mark. They could muster just 23 runs in the last four overs as Jason Holder and Dwayne Bravo constantly chipped away with wickets.
Pakistan finished with 157/8 in their 20 overs. Holder returned with a four-fer while Bravo took two wickets. In reply, West Indies lost Andre Fletcher early as Mohammad Hafeez put on a clinic with the ball in the powerplay.
The veteran off-spinning all-rounder bowled a spell of 3-1-5-1 inside the powerplay as the hosts just couldn’t get going. Hasan Ali capped off an excellent powerplay for Pakistan as he dismissed Chris Gayle off the final ball as West Indies crawled to 31/2 at the six-over mark.
Shimron Hetmyer and Evin Lewis struggled to post the powerplay as well and just couldn’t up the ante. Lewis did strike a couple of sixes, but just when he looked good, he retired hurt at the end of the 14th over because of cramps. Nicholas Pooran, who was batting on 4 off 11, took off with 74 runs needed off the final five overs.
The left-hander took the Pakistan bowlers to the cleaners at the death, while Kieron Pollard wasn’t fluent at the other end. Pooran kept hitting the boundaries from his end to keep West Indies in the hunt. But with 20 runs needed in the final over, Pollard took two off the first ball before getting out on the second ball of the over. Shaheen Afridi held his nerve on the third and fourth delivery off the over to avoid the boundary and seal a win for Pakistan.
Brief Scores
Pakistan 157/8 (Azam 51, Rizwan 46, Holder 4/26, Bravo 2/26) beat West Indies 150/4 (Nicholas Pooran 62*, Lewis 35 retired hurt, Hafeez 1/6, Hasan Ali 1/32) by seven runs
