Babar, Hussain dazzle as Pakistan seal T20I series

KARACHI: There were roadblocks and there were traffic jams. Various layers of security made it tough for the fans to reach the National Stadium. And to top it all, it was a week day.

But over 20,000 spectators still came and supported Pakistan as they beat their previous highest total in Twenty20 Internationals for the second time in less than 24 hours to knock down West Indies by 82 runs and seal the three-match T20I series in their favour.

After Pakistan made short work of a depleted and jet-lagged West Indian team by a whopping 143 runs in the series opener Sunday night, it was clear that the tourists were a side with little or no teeth. A repeat of what happened Sunday was expected in Monday’s second T20 game.

And despite the fact that big-hitting opener Fakhar Zaman (6) fell cheaply, Pakistan had a cakewalk to their highest total (205-3) after electing to bat first on a breezy Karachi evening. Their biggest batting hero was Babar Azam, a man often criticised for his inability to score fast in the T20 format. But on Monday, it was a different Babar altogether as the opener first completed his 50 from just 30 balls and then raced to a career-best 97 not out. The 23-year-old was unlucky not to reach his maiden T20 century. Thanks to his partner Shoaib Malik, Babar did get an ample chance to reach that milestone but was unable to get there to the utter dismay of a vocal crowd which cheered his every run. “I’m to be blamed as I couldn’t connect and played out a few dot balls at the end,” said Babar, who was named man-of-the-match.

Then there was Hussain Talat, who scored his maiden 50 in his second T20I outing. Having missed that milestone on his debut Sunday, Hussain batted with authority hitting eight fours and a six in his 41-ball 63. He looked set for a bigger score but fell to a brilliant catch by West Indies skipper Jason Mohammad at point. But by then Hussain had done his job, having put on 119 runs for the second wicket from just 74 balls with Babar.

Babar, meanwhile, continued his onslaught as he added 37 with Asif Ali (14 from 8) and 38 with Malik (17 from 7) to shepherd Pakistan to their biggest ever total in T20I history. While the West Indians surrendered without any fight Sunday as they crashed to 60 all out, they came out with a better display with the bat thanks to an entertaining cameo of 40 from 29 balls. But the rest of the West Indian batting line-up capitulated yet again. Dinesh Ramdin was the other chief contributor with 21 from 20 balls. Pakistan’s bowling big guns sizzled again with the multi-dimensional attack just toying with the West Indians. The pace trio of Mohammad Amir (3-22), Hussain Talat (2-12) and Hassan Ali (1-33) were too good for the West Indians while spin twins Shadab Khan (2-23) and Mohammad Nawaz (1-19) just bamboozled them even though the National Stadium track is quite a batting paradise.