Published: Sep 24, 2016, 07:15 PM (IST)
Edited: Sep 25, 2016, 01:20 AM (IST)
Hello, and Welcome to CrickteCountry’s coverage of the second T20 International (T20I) between Pakistan and West Indies at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium, Dubai. Pakistan registered a big win against the ICC T20 champions West Indies not even 24 hours back as they defeated them by 9 wickets riding on Imad Wasim’s wonderful 5-for. New skipper Sarfraz Ahmed will want to keep it up and try winning the second T20I match as well to win the series and continue their domination. West Indies, on the other hand, have a huge task ahead of them as they have to win this match and fight out for the series in the third and final T20I match of the series wich is to be played on 27th of September at the Sheikh Zayed Stadium, Abu Dhabi.
Pakistan got off to a flying start to the three-match Twenty20 (T20I) series against West Indies in an emphatic fashion by winning the first T20I by nine wickets. The second match will be crucial for both the teams as the hosts will be eager to win the series whereas the visitors will be itching to level the series. Winning the toss in first T20I, everything clicked for Pakistan as they opted to bowl and Imad Wasim‘s menacing spell of 4-0-14-5 kept the visitors at bay. West Indies were struggling at 48 for 8 at one stage but Dwayne Bravo’s fifty helped the Caribbean team get past three figures. Pakistan, chasing 116 for a win, were cruising as Babar Azam‘s maiden half-century in T20Is made a mockery of West Indies’ low total.
The West Indian batsmen are known for their big shots but they paid the price for playing reckless shots early in their innings which caused their downfall. West Indies batsmen also misjudged the length of the balls which led to the slide of their key players. A star-studded line-up comprising of Johnson Charles, Evin Lewis, Andre Fletcher, Keiron Pollard and Marlon Samuels looked toothless in front of a disciplined bowling line-up of Pakistan. ALSO READ: Pakistan vs West Indies: Babar Azam’s half century guides Pakistan to an easy victory
On the other hand, there were lots of positive for the hosts who had a clinical day on the field. Pakistan would be extremely happy with their bowlers who responded well, coming back from a comprehensive victory against England in Southampton on September 7. Imad Wasim was the star performer for the hosts as he was well supported by others. Wahab Riaz, Sohail Tanvir and Mohammad Nawaz were economical and picked wickets as well. Sarfraz Ahmed‘s side will like their batsmen to have more exposure in the second T20I and continue from where they left in the bowling department. Meanwhile, Carlos Brathwaite has a test of his leadership as he will have to regroup his troops after a msierable performance in the format where they enjoy tremendous success.
Wasim was spot on during his spell of four overs as he hardly strayed down his line. He was given the ball from the very first over of the match as there was a lot of assist for spinners from the pitch. Wasim struck the visitors batting from his very first over and drilled through their top-order batsmen. Wasim bowled in straight with lot of pace and bounce and making the ball drift after pitching. The West Indian batsmen never looked like settling down as they tried going for big shots from their very first ball and this how eventually all of their batsmen lost thier wickets and eventually the match.
The visitors will have to find answers to their batting woes as this the second consecutive match wherein their batting order has collapsed. The last time they faced such situation was against India in the second T20I match at Florida. West Indies managed to score 143 in that match but in a very unconvincing manner because in the previous match they went on to score a mammoth target of 246 in 20 overs. Their batsmen have the knack of scoring runs mostly through sixes and boundaries as they are clean hitters of the ball, but they have also been irregular in delivering the same performance in every match. So consistency has the major backdrop for the visitors who will have to make amends quickly in this series if they want to win the second clash and draw the series at 1-1 before they play the final two days.
Both the teams are playing their second match on consecutive days which will take a toll on them but at international level, they will be expected to come all guns blazing. West Indies will have to live up-to their image in T20Is and level the series. Pakistan will look to continue their winning momentum while the West Indies will try their best to break it and pull it on their side.
Squads:
Pakistan: Sarfraz Ahmed (c & wk), Sharjeel Khan, Khalid Latif, Babar Azam, Wahab Riaz, Sohail Tanvir, Mohammad Nawaz, Shoaib Malik, Imad Wasim, Mohammad Rizwan, Mohammad Aamer, Hasan Ali, Umar Akmal, Rumman Raees, Saad Nasim
West Indies: Carlos Brathwaite (c), Samuel Badree, Dwayne Bravo, Johnson Charles (wk), Andre Fletcher, Jason Holder, Evin Lewis, Sunil Narine, Kieron Pollard, Nicholas Pooran, Rovman Powell, Kesrick Williams, Marlon Samuels, Jerome Taylor, Chadwick Walton
