Pakistan v West Indies, 1st T20I: 5 Talking Points

The T20 world champions West Indies began their long tour to UAE as they took on the in-form Pakistan team at the Dubai International Stadium in the first T20I of the 3-match series. Both teams were coming in fresh from series victories from their previous tours. Pakistan had defeated the hosts England in a one-off T20 match and West Indies emerged victorious by 1-0 in a 2-match series against India in the United States.

It was going to be a battle between the strong Pakistani bowling attack and the hard-hitting batsman from the Caribbean. There was plenty of anticipation from the crowd as most of the seats were occupied well before the start of the game to witness the two heavyweights of the T20 format going head to head.

The match didn’t live up to the expectations though as Pakistan completely dominated the West Indies and it turned out to be a rather one-sided affair. Pakistani bowlers were at the Windies batsmen right from the start and kept pegging away with wickets at regular intervals and a strong batting line-up was restricted to a paltry total of 115. The batsmen then continued the good work in the second innings and chased down the total without sweating much in only the 15^th over.

Here is a look at the five major talking points of the game as Pakistan took a 1-0 lead in the series.

Left-arm spinners hurt West Indies early

Pakistan started with the left-arm spin of Imad Wasim and the move immediately paid dividends as Evin Lewis was sent back in the very first over. Wasim then dismissed Andre Fletcher and Marlon Samuels in a span of three deliveries to put the opposition deeper into trouble. Another left-arm spinner Mohammad Nawaz removed the dangerous Johnson Charles and Hasan Ali further dented the innings by sending Nicholas Pooran back to the pavilion. Half the side was back in the hut inside 5 overs and West Indies were tottering at 25/5 at the end of the batting powerplay.

Imad Wasim’ magnificent five-for

The left arm-spinner put up a superb performance with the ball as he became the first Pakistani spinner and the second Pakistani bowler ever to bag a five-wicket haul in T20Is. Interestingly, though, it was not the turn that did the damage, but the fast in-dippers with the new ball that swung in to the right-handers were his major weapons. In his second spell, he picked up the two destructive batsmen Kieron Pollard and Carlos Brathwaite to ensure there were no partnerships to solidify the innings. He ended with figures of 5/14 in 4 overs and was adjudged the player of the match.

Bravo to the rescue

The top order for West Indies had collapsed incompetently and in the 12^th over, they had lost 8 wickets for just 48 runs and were in danger of getting all-out for a lot lesser than 100 runs. Dwayne Bravo then combined with Jerome Taylor to take the team to a fighting total. The duo added 66 runs for the 9^th wicket to put the team in a fighting position with 115 runs on the board. Bravo scored the lone fifty of the innings and Taylor added run a ball 21 and ably supported Bravo. None of the other batsmen could even utter a double-digit score but a record 9^th wicket partnership ensured that the bowlers had something on the board to fight for.

A solid run-chase

The targets close to 120 are the trickiest to chase as the sides find it difficult sometimes to determine the pace of the innings but Pakistan did it perfectly without any hiccups. Sharjeel Khan went after the bowling in the beginning and provided a quick start. Samuel Badree accounted for his wicket in the fourth over but because there was not too much pressure of the runs on the board, the batsmen could afford to take their time. Khalid Latif batted at an easy pace and Babar Azam kept the boundaries flowing from the other end and together, they constructed a steady partnership of 88 runs with the latter bringing up his maiden half-century in T20Is.

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A dominant Pakistan

Not too often, the word dominant has been associated with Pakistan off late as they have had a history of messing up the games from the most comfortable situations. But this time around, the completely opposite happened as they didn’t give West Indies even a sniff in the match. The early destruction with the ball meant that the opposition could never make a comeback. During the chase as well, they were ruthless with Sharjeel Khan walking out with all guns blazing and attacked from the outset. After his departure, Khalid Latif and Babar Azam ensured no further damage and sealed a comprehensive win for the team by 9 wickets.

Written by Shubham Khare.