Pakistan vs West Indies, T20I Series: Combined XI

With the conclusion of the T20 series in the Caribbean, the four-match series went in favor of the visitors. The Pakistan team won the first, second and final T20I to lift the series at 3-1. However, the scoreline does not indicate the competitiveness of the series throughout. This was an evenly contested series with West Indies failing to capitalize during the key moments in the game.

The Pakistanis won the 1^st match of the series in Barbados after the man of the match and series, Shadab Khan, single-handedly decimated the batting line up of West Indies after they won the toss and made the home team bat. Sarfaraz Khan and Babar Azam completed the formality of chasing the paltry total of 111 and take a 1-0 lead in the series.

The focus shifted to Port of Spain, Trinidad where West Indies put the visitors into bat and restricted them to a total of 132. A late cameo from Riaz made a difference of about 30 runs into the total. Shadab Khan delivered yet another man of the match performance and helped restrict the home team 3 runs short of the required total. Pakistan took an unassailable lead of 2-0 after the conclusion of the second matchup between the two sides.

The 3rd T20 was an Evin Lewis show, where he almost chased down Pakistan’s total of 137 runs within 15 overs single-handedly. Lewis played the innings of the match with a decimating 91 off just 51 runs and kept the hopes of the home team alive. The series was interestingly poised at 2-1 before the commencement of the final match.

The 4^th T20 saw yet another disappointing effort from the West Indians batting unit as they could only manage a dismal total of 124, which the Pakistanis chased down easily with help of Ahmed Shehzad’s innings of 53.

Let us look at some of the stars who made it into the list of Combined XI, exclusively compiled by us, from the recently concluded T20 series between the two teams.

Evin Lewis

Much was expected out of this fierce-some opener from Trinidad. He gained recognition after his blistering knock of 100 off just 49 balls last year in the T20 series against India last August. Since then, he featured regularly in the opening slot in the shortest format of the game.

Yet again, Lewis demonstrated why he’s one of the destructive players in the world right now. In the 3^rd T20I, he scored 91 off just 51 balls which comprised of 9 maximums and 5 boundaries.

The only thing he needs to work on is his consistency. Otherwise, he has proved to be a match-winner in this format of the game.

Ahmed Shehzad

Though he remained inconsistent in the first half of the series, he delivered the knockout punch in the final innings. With Pakistan looking to avoid any kind of hiccups in pursuit of the modest target of 124 set by the West Indians, he scored a silky 53 off 45 balls.

His innings consisted of six fours and a towering six. This knock ensured the visitors cruised through to their series victory. He was also involved in an ugly mishap when he collided with the West Indian wicketkeeper and opener Chadwick Walton in the 3rd match. A lot of concerns were raised after he was stretchered off from the field, a scary sight for any viewer.

He resumed the field shortly after the incident, much to the relief of the Pakistan fans.