Sahibzada Farhan shone under the Florida lights as his impressive knock alongside Saim Ayub led the platform for Pakistan to win 7th consecutive series against West Indies. Sahibzada Farhan and Saim Ayub combined really well at the top putting 138 in 16,2 overs to lay the platform for a big total. Farhan made 74 off 53 balls while Ayub made 66 off 49 balls and some lusty blows in the death took Pakistan to 189/4.
West Indies got off to a great start through Jewel Andrew and Alick Athanaze as the latter got 60 while Sherfane Rutherford scored 51 off 35 balls down the order. But Pakistan put on an all-round bowling display while West Indies lacked firepower in the end with lack of finishing ability as they were tied down to 176/6 losing the game by 13 runs. Pakistan deserve this series win without a shadow of a doubt.
Sahibzada Farhan & Saim Ayub half-centuries propel Pakistan to 189.Â
Winning the toss and deciding to bat first, Sahibzada Farhan and Saim Ayub walked out to bat for Pakistan. Akeal Hosein bowled a decent first over as both the openers were getting their eye in. Jason Holder also bowled a decent first over before Farhan broke the shackles by smashing Hosein for the maximum. Roston Chase was introduced as well and he bowled a decent over till the final ball was launched by Farhan over wide long-on.
Saim Ayub joined the party by hitting Akeal Hosein for a boundary before Farhan hit him also for a boundary. Shamar Joseph was introduced into the attack to bowl the final over of powerplay and Farhan launched him over deep backward square leg for the maximum. At the end of the powerplay, Pakistan were off to a steady start at 47/0 in 6 overs.
Gudakesh Motie was introduced into the attack post the powerplay as the 50 came up and of the partnership in 6.3 overs. Holder came back for a fresh spell and Ayub got into the act hitting him over wide mid-off. Ayub was in the groove now as he hit Motie for another boundary through short fine leg. Farhan then switched gears and tore Shamar Joseph apart by hitting him for a boundary followed by a maximum to put pressure on the bowler. At the halfway stage, Pakistan were 82/0 when Drinks was called into the field.
Romario Shepherd came into the attack post the powerplay as Farhan completed his half century off 34 balls. Runs came in singles for the next few overs as the hosts tried to keep things tight. Ayub broke the shackles by mashing a maximum over deep midwicket to Shepherd to bring up the 100 for Pakistan in 12.3 overs. Ayub hit another boundary the next ball to reach his fifty in 37 balls. Farhan then hit Holder for a boundary taking advantage of the full toss at the stumps.
Akeal Hosein bowled a decent spell but Farhan was on a roll as he smashed him for a maximum over deep midwicket to end the 15th over. At the end of 15 overs, Pakistan were 130/0. Roston Chase bowled a decent 16th over hardly giving anything away. Shamar Joseph came back into the attack for his 3rd over and he finally provided the breakthrough for West Indies getting rid of Farhan for 74 off 53 balls with 3 fours and 5 sixes to his name.
Joseph bowled a low full toss angling away, Farhan looked to smack it out of the park but miscued it to extra cover where Shai Hope ran back and took a fine catch. Hasan Nawaz walked out to bat at 3 and after receiving a flurry of wide balls, he struck Joseph for a maximum over fine leg. The 150 came up for Pakistan in 17.1 overs before Nawaz launched Chase over long-on. Chase ultimately had his man as he dismissed Nawaz for 15 off 7 balls with 2 sixes to his name.
Chase bowled a short slower ball wide of off-stump, Nawaz looked to go big off the back foot but got no power on the shot at all. Romario Shepherd took the catch at long-off. Mohammad Haris walked out to bat and got off the mark as well. But another wicket fell in the next over via a run out as Haris fell for 2 off 2 balls. Haris wanted the second run but the throw from Gudakesh Motie to Jewel Andrew was perfect and despite the dive, the batter was short of his crease. Khushdil Shah walked out to bat next.
Saim Ayub then launched Jason Holder for a maximum hitting the full toss outside off over deep backward square leg. But Holder had his man the next ball getting rid of Ayub for 66 off 49 balls with 4 fours and 2 sixes to his name. Holder bowled a full toss wide of off-stump, Ayub tried to carve it over deep covers but he miscued it. Sherfane Rutherford came in from the fence and completed the catch. Faheem Ashraf came out to bat next.
Shamar Joseph had the responsibility of bowling the final over of the innings. Khushdil launched Joseph over long-off for the maximum before Faheem Ashraf joined the party hitting a massive maximum over deep backward square leg. At the end of 20 overs, Pakistan ended up with 189/4 with Khushdil Shah unbeaten on 11 off 6 balls with a maximum to his name while Faheem Ashraf remained unbeaten on 10 off 3 balls with a six to his name. 11 extras given by West Indies as well.
The West Indies bowlers had to toil hard for their wickets. Jason Holder finished with 1/34 in 4 overs. Roston Chase bowled a decent spell of 1/31 in 4 overs. Shamar Joseph picked up a wicket but went for 57 runs in 4 overs. Akeal Hosein bowled decently for his 0/32 in 4 overs. Gudakesh Motie’s 2 overs went for 14 runs while Romario Shepherd went for 20 in 2 overs. There was also a run out in the innings. West Indies now needed a stiff 190 runs to win the match and series.
Alick Athanaze, Sherfane Rutherford score 50s, but West Indies fall short by 13 runs
Jewel Andrew came out to open the batting with Alick Athanaze for West Indies in this chase of 190. Andrew made his intentions clear against Hasan Ali getting 3 runs off the first ball before smashing a boundary through the covers. Andrew hit two more boundaries in the same over to set things up for West Indies and put pressure on Pakistan. Mohammad Nawaz was greeted with a boundary by Athanaze and he was not done yet as he smashed another maximum and a boundary off Nawaz in the same over.
Haris Rauf slipped in a quiet first over from himself. Faheem Ashraf bowled a quiet over as well as the required rate slowly climbed higher. Andrew was given a reprieve off the bowling off Rauf at the start of the 5th over. But Rauf had his first wicket the very next ball as Andrew fell for 24 off 15 balls with 3 boundaries to his name. Rauf bowled a short of a length outside off, Andrew looked to go big but he mistimed it to long-on where Hasan Ali ran in and took a good catch. Captain Shai Hope came out to bat and got off the mark straightaway.
Athanaze hit a streaky boundary off Haris Rauf as West Indies brought up their fifty in 4.5 overs. Athanaze hit Faheem Ashraf for a boundary as West Indies ended the powerplay overs at 59/1. Athanaze survived a LBW call against Mohammad Nawaz as the ball had hit his bat with Pakistan burning a review as well. Saim Ayub was introduced into the attack and was hit for a boundary by Athanaze as he looked to be in the zone. Mohammad Nawaz struck for Pakistan as the captain Shai Hope fell for 7 off 9 balls.
Nawaz bowled a length delivery outside off, Hope ran down the track and attempted to go inside out but didn’t time it well enough. Saim Ayub ran in from the fence and took a routine catch as Nawaz had his 7th wicket of the series. Sherfane Rutherford came out to bat next. He got off the mark in grand fashion smashing Nawaz for the maximum over long-off. Sufiyan Muqeem came into the attack and was greeted with a boundary from Athanaze. At the end of 10 overs, West Indies were 90/2 requiring exactly 100 off 60 balls with 8 wickets in hand as Drinks was called into the field.
Athanaze reached his maiden T20I fifty in 31 balls as he was the key in this chase. Rutherford then hit Ayub over extra cover for a boundary. The 100 came up for West Indies in 11.3 overs as some tight overs were being dished out by Pakistan bowlers. Athanaze broke the shackles by hitting Ayub for consecutive boundaries but Ayub had the last laugh dismissing the set batter for 60 off 40 balls with 8 fours and 1 six to his innings.
Ayub bowled full on the stumps, Athanaze attempted another slog sweep but he top edged it to short third man where Khushdil Shah took the catch easily. Roston Chase came out to bat next. Rutherford showed delicate touch by hitting Muqeem for a boundary. Chase then hit Ayub for a boundary before going off strike. Rutherford got into the act by smashing a maximum over deep midwicket. At the end of 15 overs, West Indies were 130/3 needing a further 60 runs off 30 balls.
Sherfane Rutherford hit consecutive boundaries off Hasan Ali to end the 16th over as 49 was now needed off 24 balls. Haris Rauf bowled a decent 17th over despite Chase hitting him for a boundary through luck. The equation came down to 41 needed off 18 balls when West Indies decided to retire out Roston Chase for 15 off 12 balls with 2 fours to his name. Jason Holder came to the crease and fell for a silver duck as Sufiyan Muqeem struck for Pakistan.
Muqeem turned in from a length, Holder attempted to slog it over midwicket but he missed as the ball went onto strike the top of the leg stump. Romario Shepherd walked out to bat next as the 150 came up for West Indies in 17.3 overs. Muqeem finished his spell as West Indies now needed 38 off 12 balls. Shepherd launched the full toss over wide long-on for the maximum and got to his fifty in 32 balls. It meant that despite a 13-run over, West Indies needed 25 runs off the final 6 balls.
Hasan Ali was given the responsibility of bowling the final over and after bowling a dot and wide he got rid of Rutherford for 51 off 35 balls with 4 fours and 3 sixes to his name to seal the deal for Pakistan. Hasan bowled a fuller length ball angling in, Rutherford whipped it straight down the throat of long-on where Sahibzada Farhan made no mistake. Gudakesh Motie came out to bat next.
Motie got off the mark with a boundary and hit a maximum two balls later off Hasan Ali, but it did not matter. Pakistan won the contest by 13 runs with West Indies finishing on 176/6 in 20 overs with Shepherd on 4* off 3 balls and Motie on 10* off 4 balls with 1 four and 1 six to his name. 5 extras given by Pakistan and all of them were wides.
The Pakistan bowlers bowled decently and got the job done in the end. Hasan Ali finished with 1/38 in 3 overs. Mohammad Nawaz finished with 1/33 in 3 overs. Haris Rauf bowled decently for his 1/34 in 4 overs. Saim Ayub finished with 1/38 in 4 overs. Sufiyan Muqeem bowled a miserly spell of 1/20 in 4 overs. Faheem Ashraf’s 2 overs went for 13 runs without taking a wicket. So, Pakistan win by 13 runs and win their 7th consecutive T20I series win against West Indies. For his great batting display, Sahibzada Farhan was awarded the Player of the Match Award while Mohammad Nawaz was awarded the Player of the Series Award.
What Lies Ahead
So, Pakistan won the T20I series 2-1 in Florida and now both teams will head from USA back to Caribbean Islands. The action shifts to Brian Lara Academy in Tarouba where the 3 ODIS will take place. The first of the ODIs takes place on Friday 8th of August which will be a Day Night game, and the rest of the two matches are Day games. Mohammad Rizwan will lead Pakistan while Shai Hope will continue to lead West Indies.
Both teams haven’t played ODI cricket for a while. West Indies recently lost to England in England badly while Pakistan haven’t played for quite a while. Let’s see how the teams shape up against each other and how they perform in ODIs. The series promises to be a good one.
Also Read:Â WI vs PAK: Jason Holder Stars As West Indies Level The Series 1-1