Pakistan defeat Windies by seven runs in second T20

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan defeated the West Indies by seven runs in the second T20 International of the four-match series at the National Stadium in Guyana on Saturday night.

Captain Babar Azam scored 51 runs and Mohammad Rizwan hit 46 runs to keep their team afloat during the match. Mohammad Hafeez was able to pick up a wicket for only six runs.

Jason Holder and Dwayne Bravo combined to restrict Pakistan to 157 for 8 batting first against the West Indies.

Holder, the former captain, returned excellent figures of four for 26 while Bravo, the veteran all-rounder and leading wicket-taker in all T20 cricket, claimed two for 24.

It meant the tourists squandered a solid platform provided by captain Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan. Babar’s polished 51 off 58 balls with two sixes and four fours was the top score of the innings. He put on 67 runs for the third wicket with Rizwan after Sharjeel Khan and Rizwan had set the stage for a challenging target in putting on 56 after West Indies captain Kieron Pollard won the toss and put Pakistan in to bat.

However the demise of Rizwan for 46 via the run out route interrupted the smooth flow of the visitors´ innings. When play resumed following a brief stoppage for rain, Babar’s demise to the bowling of Holder was a setback from which they never properly recovered.

In the mad dash through the final overs to lift the flagging scoring rate Pakistan lost four wickets in the space of eight deliveries as the discipline, accuracy and clever variations of Holder and Bravo brought its reward.

Following the rain-ruined first match in Barbados three days earlier, both teams were forced to make changes because of injuries.

Lendl Simmons, who retired hurt after being struck on the neck by a short ball from debutant Mohammad Wasim on Wednesday, was replaced at the top of the home side´s batting order by Andre Fletcher. West Indies also drafted Romario Shepherd in place of Andre Russell.

Pakistan middle-order batsman Azam Khan was struck on the helmet at practice in Guyana and was ruled out of the next two matches of the series. His place went to Sohaib Maqsood in the only change to the tourists´ line-up.