Pakistan: Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan’s brilliant half-centuries helped Pakistan defeat West Indies by 7 wickets and by winning this match Pakistan wins the T20I series 3-0. In this match after winning the toss, West Indies decided to bat first.
Brandon King and Shamarh Brooks blazing start
Brandon King and Shamarh Brooks gave West Indies a fiery start as they added 66 runs in the mandatory powerplay. Brandon King was the aggressor in this partnership as he scored 43 runs off 21 deliveries which included 7 fours and 2 sixes at a strike rate of 204.76.
When Brandon King got out West Indies were 66/1 after 6 overs. After that West Indies skipper Nicholas Pooran came in to bat. Pooran and Shamarh Brooks stitched up a 33 runs partnership.
Shamarh Brooks missed his well-deserved half-century by 1 run as he got out after scoring 49 runs off 31 deliveries which included 2 four and 4 gigantic sixes. After the departure of Shamarh Brooks, Darren Bravo came out to bat and West Indies were 99/2 after 9.4 overs.
Nicholas Pooran’s raging knock
In the last 10 overs, Nicholas Pooran destroyed the Pakistan bowling lineup as he scored 64 runs off 37 deliveries which included 2 fours and 6 monstrous sixes. He played with a strike rate of 172.97 and this was Nicholas Pooran’s 4th T20I half-century.
Nicholas Pooran and Darren Bravo stitched up a 93 runs partnership and West Indies were 192/3 in 17.4 overs after Nicholas Pooran got out. Darren Bravo also played a handy knock of 34 runs off 27 deliveries which included 3 fours and West Indies ended their innings at 207/3 after 20 overs.
For Pakistan, Mohammad Wasim Jr took 2 wickets while Shahnawaz Dahani took 1 wicket.
Mohammad Rizwan and Babar Azam’s record breaking T20I partnership
Pakistan needed a good opening partnership to win this match and their openers, Mohammad Rizwan and Babar Azam made sure that Pakistan gets a good opening partnership. The duo added 60 runs in the 6 over powerplay.
Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan stitched up a 158 runs partnership for the opening wicket. In this partnership, Babar Azam scored his 25th T20I half-century whereas Mohammad Rizwan scored his 13th T20I half-century.
This was the 6th time that Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan had a 100 runs partnership in T20Is surpassing Rohit Sharma and KL Rahul (5 times). In this match, Mohammad Rizwan became the first batsman in the history of cricket to score 2000 T20 runs in a Calendar Year.
Mohammad Rizwan scored 87 runs off 45 deliveries which included 10 fours and 3 sixes and Babar Azam scored 79 runs off 53 deliveries which included 9 fours and 2 sixes. After they both got out Pakistan was 184/2 after 17.2 overs.
Fakhar Zaman scored 12 off 8 before getting out of a delivery bowled by Romario Shepherd. Iftikhar Ahmed then came out to join Asif Ali in the middle.
Asif Ali played a great cameo knock of 21 runs off 7 deliveries which included 2 fours and 2 sixes and Pakistan chased down the target in 18.5 overs to win this T20I match and T20I series.
For West Indies, Romario Shepherd, Dominic Drakes, and Odean Smith took 1 wicket each.
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