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Babar Azam-led Pakistan took an unassailable lead in the three-T20I series with a 20-run win at National Stadium, Karachi. Despite opener Brandon King’s valiant half-century and Romario Shepherd’s late carnage, West Indies fell short of the 173-run target as they lost the match by nine runs.
King leads from front
With Shai Hope getting out early, King fired from the other end and made use of fielding restrictions. Shamarh Brooks disappointed with the bat too with four-ball 10 but King stabilised the innings alongside skipper Nicholas Pooran. West Indies were on the right track in the chase with 50 runs on board after six overs. He scored 67 runs from 43 deliveries despite wickets falling at the other end. His innings was studded with six fours and three sixes.
Afridi magic
While it was Haris Rauf who got the wicket of King in the 16th over, it was left-arm pacer who derailed the West Indies run chase with three strikes in the 17th over. He got the wicket of Odean Smith off the first ball of 17th over. He followed it up by sending Dominic Drakes and Hayden Walsh for a duck off consecutive deliveries. He conceded 26 runs from his quota of four overs whereas other bowlers went for runs.
Shepherd keeps it going
The hard-hitting all-rounder revived the run chase after a string of Caribbean wickets. He remained unbeaten for 35 off 19 deliveries but did not have much support from the other end to get his team over the line.
Azam’s poor run continues
Once again, Pakistan skipper registered a disappointing score in the shortest format. This time he got run out after scoring seven runs while trying to steal a non-existent single in the third over. Azam has not scored a half-century since T20 World Cup 2021 clash against Scotland.
Rizwan, Ali set platform
Opener Mohammad Rizwan continued his good run in the format. The half-centurion scored 38 runs off 30 deliveries including four fours and one six. After Azam and Fakhar Zaman’s wicket, he steadied the ship with a 48-run partnership for the third wicket with Haider Ali. The no.4 batter who scored a half-century in the previous game struggled to score boundaries and scored 31 runs from 34 deliveries.
Cameos from Iftikhar, Shadab
After Ali’s wicket, Pakistan lost two quick wickets of cameo specialists Asif Ali and Mohammad Nawaz. In the death overs, Iftikhar Ahmed and Shadab Khan helped Pakistan accelerate. While Iftikhar scored a 19-ball 32 (one four, two sixes), Shadab was at his destructive best in the final two overs with a 12-ball 28 including one four and three sixes. The late surge in scoring helped Pakistan set a total of 172/8.
