(Cricket news) Pakistan beat West Indies in the third and final T20 match to complete a 3-0 win over the visitors. With this win, the tour came to a halt as five more members from the West Indies side tested positive to bring the total to nine. The ODI series will be played next year as West Indies will have another six months to avenge their T20 loss to the hosts.
West Indies won the toss and this time decided to bat first. Openers Brandon King and Shamarah Brooks took on the attack from the very first over as runs came in from all parts of the ground. King used his feet against spin to smack the ball to the offside as Brooks timed the ball to perfection to clear the boundary ropes, King even smacked a 98 meter six off Mohammad Wasim Jr which landed on the roof and the runs kept on piling. Wasim then uprooted the off stump in the very next delivery as King departed on the last ball of the powerplay.
The score was 66 in 6 overs and the powerplay came to an end but Indies continued their attack. Brooks got a second chance in the 8th over as fielders Mohammad Hasnain and Iftikhar Ahmed looked at each other when the ball safely dropped on the pitch, Brooks then hit three sixes in first three balls in the next over by Shadab Khan. Pakistan got their second breakthrough in the 10th over as Shahnawaz Dahani who was playing in his second T20 match got Brooks one short of a half century but even that didn’t stop the hosts as runs kept coming in.
West Indies captain Nicholas Pooran hit six sixes in his knock of 64 from 37 balls and his dismissal finally brought an end to the raining boundaries as there were none in the last 16 balls which set the target to 208. Pakistan had successfully chased a target above 200 for the first time a few months back against South Africa.
Pakistani openers captain Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan were expected to give a flying start to the team. The first ball saw Rizwan miss a sweep shot against Gudakesh Motie as the spinner’s appeal convinced the umpire but Rizwan went for a review and the ball bounced too high. The openers managed to score 60 runs in the powerplay which seemed good but still needed more for victory and the openers delivered as they put together their second highest partnership of 158 runs in 16 overs. They broke the record of Rohit Sharma and KL Rahul’s 5 century partnerships, Babar and Rizwan now lead the record books with 6 century plus partnerships.
Odeon Smith’s breakthrough did not stop Rizwan as he continued hitting boundaries along with Fakhar Zaman. Rizwan once again failed to hit a sweep shot as the ball went high in the air and Pooran caught it as it brought back life into the Carribean camp. Pakistan needed 13 off the last 12 balls with Fakhar and Asif Ali at the crease, Fakhar walked back in the first ball of the 19th over when he was caught by Brooks. Asif Ali’s cameo of 21 from 7 deliveries added the finishing touch to Pakistan’s chase and the victory came when he was dropped by Rovman Powell in the second last ball of the 19th over. Pakistan chased their highest target of 208 with an over to spare as they ended the series with a gracious win.
West Indies: 207/3 in 20 overs
Pakistan: 208/3 in 18.5 overs
Man of the match: Mohammad Rizwan (87 off 45 balls, 4×10 and 6×3)
Man of the series: Mohammd Rizwan (203 runs in three matches)
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