Pakistan have started their tour to West Indies on a high winning the first T20I against West Indies by 14 runs in Florida. While Saim Ayub stole the show with his all-round performance, a lot of credit needs to be given to Mohammad Nawaz for the win as well. While he did not shine with the bat, he was at his best with the ball and spun a web over West Indies.
Nawaz started off bowling and was taken for runs initially by the West Indies openers. He came back and bowled some miserly overs to pull things back. But it was the 12th over in which he did the star turn by picking up 3 wickets in the over and turning the game towards Pakistan. The required rate had already climbed up and with wickets falling it became very difficult for the West Indies to stay in the chase.
Mohammad Nawaz’s spell spins a web around West Indies.Â
With the bat, Nawaz contributed only 9 off 8 balls without hitting a boundary. But his main role is with the ball and he came out with flying colours. His first over went for 11 runs as the two West Indies openers Johnson Charles and Jewel Andrew took him on. But Nawaz used his experience and pulled things back by bowling tight overs as Sufiyan also supported him well by bowling cheap overs.
Then in the 12th over, with the required rate climbing, Nawaz struck for his side as he got rid of Jewel Andrew first for 35 runs. 2 balls later he got rid of Johnson Charles as both the openers were dismissed with Charles scoring 35 runs as well. Gudakesh Motie came up the order and did not help as he fell first ball as Nawaz had 3 in the over and turned the game on its head. This made sure that the other bowlers benefitted with Saim Ayub getting 2 wickets and Muqeem getting the other.
Spinners got 6 out of the 7 wickets that fell in the innings and the chief architect behind this was Mohammad Nawaz whose spell ensured that Pakistan ended on the winning side. West Indies playing spin is a different story, but Pakistan will be happy with how Nawaz is bowling as he had a decent series in Bangladesh as well.
Mohammad Nawaz Performance Over The Years.Â
Mohammad Nawaz has blown hot and cold throughout his career. In T20Is, he has been in and out of the side as Pakistan has experimented with the side. But he has the talent because he has been in the circuit since 2016. He is a proper all-rounder as on certain days, he can finish games with bat in hand. But his primary role is of a bowler. He has been in decent form in recent times.
With bat in hand, Nawaz has scored 516 runs in 64 games at an average of 17.2 and strike rate of 134. With the ball in hand, he has picked up 56 wickets in 64 games at an average of 25.3 and economy of 7.31. Nawaz had a decent outing in the recently concluded series against Bangladesh in Mirpur Dhaka as he had 2/4, 1/19 in the previous two games. With the bat, he has blown hot and cold more often than not, but is consistent with the ball.
With the T20 World Cup around the corner and Pakistan to play their matches in Sri Lanka, it is imperative Nawaz shows his form and does well for his side. Pakistan will be hoping that Nawaz is leading the spin attack in Sri Lanka and does well for them in order to do well in the showpiece event. He is also handy with the bat as stats may not show that. We shall wait and see how things unfold from here for Nawaz and Pakistan.
What Lies Ahead.Â
All eyes will be on the second T20I that will be played on August 3rd in Florida. Pakistan will look to take a winning 2-0 lead in the series while the hosts will look to bounce back and force a decider which is slated to be played the next day. Both teams are evenly-matched and so anything can happen on the given day.
Will West Indies bounce back and square things up or will Pakistan get the winning lead in the series. Find out soon as the second match takes place in a couple of days time.
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