Shamar Springer proved to be the star of the show for West Indies as they recorded a 15-run win over Afghanistan in the third and final T20I of the series. The pacer racked up a hat-trick and played a key role in the side defending the target of 152 at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium. However, the win was mere consolation for the Windies as Affghanistan had already clinched the series by winning the first two matches.
After being invited to bat first, West Indies failed to get a good start as lost opener Johnson Charles for 17 in the fifth over. Brandon King looked to be in good touch, but didn't get much support from the other end as both Keacy Carty (10) and Justin Greaves (12) got dismissed cheaply. Both of these wickets were taken by Abdullah Ahmedzai.
WI post respectable total
King would eventually be dismissed for 47 runs by Rashid Khan in the 16th over. The spinner also went on to take the wicket of Shimron Hetmyer later in the same over, restricting West Indies to 103/5 with four overs remaining. They looked to be in big trouble at one stage, but cameos of 27 and 16 from Matthew Forde and Springer respectively helped them in posting a fighting total of 151/7 on the board after 20 overs.
In reply, Afghanistan got off to a strong start thanks to the opening duo of Rahmanullah Gurbaz and Ibrahim Zadran. The two batted sensibly and punished the loose deliveries, taking the side's total over the 50-run mark comfortably. The partnership was eventually broken on 74 by Forde, who sent Zadran back to the pavilion for 28 runs.
Though Gurbaz continued batting brilliantly and brought up his half-century, he didn't get much support from the other end. The likes of Sediqullah Atal, Darwish Rasooli and Mohammad Nabi got dismissed for cheap scores as Afghanistan went down to 116/4. The match still appeared to be in the balance for them, but Springer's spectacular 19th over changeed everything.
Springer's hat-trick leads WI to victory
The pacer first took the massive wicket of Gurbaz for 73 runs before dismissing Rashid for a golden duck on the very next delivery. Springer completed his hat-trick by clinching the wicket of Shahidullah on the third delivery. They were eventually restricted down to 138/8 in 20 overs as West Indies recorded a much-needed win before the 2026 T20 World Cup. Springer was adjudged as the Player of the Match for his stunning spell of 4/20. Despite the result, Afghanistan went on to win the three-match series by 2-1.