Independence Cup: Pak vs WXI, 3rd T20I – 5 Game-Changing Moments

The much-hyped decider of Independence Cup finally took place today and it was Pakistan who emerged victorious in the galactical match. Pakistan, after losing the toss, were put into bat by Faf Du Plessis’ World XI and posted a total of 183. It was Ahmed Shehzad who looked a class apart and made a brilliant comeback into form with a substantial score.

Chasing a daunting total, the visitors had no answer to the bowling of Pakistan and were put into the backfoot early into the match. A late order resurgence from the guests managed to keep the interest intact in the match. But in the end, it was too much to ask for as they fell short by a margin of 33 runs.

Ajmal Shehzad was awarded the man of the match award while Babar Azam was adjudged as the man of the series as Pakistan clinch the series by 2-1. Let us look at the five game-changing moments of the game.

1. Ahmed Shehzad’s stealing the thunder

Ahmed Shehzad had been threatening to go at the World XI in the previous matches but couldn’t quite get the substantial score necessary. However, it was a different story all together today as he took it upon himself to dominate in the innings.

He usually played second fiddle to Babar Azam in the tournament so far but this team around, he carried a better strike rate of almost 162 in his innings of 89 off just 55 balls. He scored as many as 8 boundaries and three maximums in his knock.

2. Babar Azam and Shoaib Malik’s rich form

Both Babar Azam and Shoaib Malik have been in splendid form this series and it has been a delight to watch the two Pakistani dominate against the World XI. After scoring a brilliant 86 in the First T20I, he followed it up with a couple of important 40s in the subsequent matches, giving a good start to the Pakistanis consistently.

If Azam gave the starts, it was up to Malik to finish the innings for his team. Yet again he played a brilliant cameo of 17 off just seven balls today to give the impetus in the innings, much like in the previous games. In the end, they helped Pakistan post a dominating total of 183.

3. Star bowlers going for plenty

The star-studded line of World XI proved ineffective against the onslaught of the Pakistani batsman. Morne Morkel, Ben Cutting and Imran Tahir went for plenty without picking up the wickets. It was only a one-man show for World XI as Thisara Perera picked up the wickets and scored the runs at lightning pace, to contribute for the team. Even Samuel Badree leaked runs upfront to Fakhar Zaman and Shehzad without picking up wickets.

4. Pak bowlers doing the damage early on

The match was already in favour of Pakistan before the halfway mark of the World XI’s reply. They were reduced to 67-5 in the tenth over as the star-studded lineup of World XI appeared lacklustre against the Pakistan fast bowlers like Hassan Ali and Ruman Raees in particular. Raess was the pick of the bowlers as he went for an economy of only 5 while Hassan topped in the wickets tally with two wickets. The lower order had their task cut out to come back from the halfway stage.

5. Late order spark from World XI

After the hosts put the visitors in a difficult position, the late order managed to keep the match interesting with their strokeplay. Thisera Perera’s three consecutive sixes off Shadab Khan following Shehzad’s three back to back sixes off Ben Cutting were the two plays of the day.

Perera scored at the rate of knots for his 13-ball 32. Sammy and Miller also managed put important contributions on the board. In the end, it proved too much for the Pakistan as they fell short by a margin of 33 runs.