BRIDGETOWN, Barbados: Pakistan clinched six-wicket win against West Indies in the first Twenty20 International match in Bridgtown. They lead the four-match series by 1-0.
Following strong bowling performance, Pakistan utterly dominated the match from the first ball of their batting.
After Kamran Akmal (22) and Ahmed Shehzad (13) gave the game an impetus, Shoaib Malik (38) and Babar Azam (29) played steady and vigilant inning with the bat to seal the victory as Pakistan required 112 runs to win.
Shadab Khan, who proved his mettle with splendid bowling performance in Pakistan Super League (PSL) 2017, debuted his international career with a bang.
The teenage bowler’s rich haul of 3-7 restricted the hosts to 111-8. On his second ball of first over, he claimed first wicket and within eight balls he had taken three.
While, Imad Wasim (1-12), Sohail Tanvir (1-21), Wahab Riaz (1-35) and Hasan Ali (1-25) drew one wicket apiece.
Pakistan were poised to restrict West Indies within 100 runs, however unbeaten Carlos Brathwaite turned out to be late bloomer with his 34 runs from 27 balls.Earlier, Pakistan won the toss and opted to bowl first. Batsman Kamran Akmal returned to international cricket after about three years.
After winning the toss Pakistan skipper Sarfraz Ahmed said, “The preparation for this tour has been good. We have enough (talent) in the squad to restrict West Indies to a low total.”
West Indies captain Carlos Brathwaite had said he himself wanted to bat first and put some runs on the board as pitch seemed good to him.
“We are playing at home and we are confident. Unfortunately, Jason Mohammed and Jerome Taylor miss out. Rovman Powell makes his T20 debut,” he said. Both teams have played only four T20 Internationals since the World T20 last year. World champions West Indies will be seeking to erase the recent memory of a pitiful showing in the United Arab Emirates as Pakistan beat West Indies 3-0 in the UAE last year.
