Published: Oct 02, 2016, 08:17 PM (IST)
Edited: Oct 02, 2016, 08:17 PM (IST)
Babar Azam‘s second consecutive hundred compelled Pakistan to a mammoth score of 337 for 5 in 50 overs versus West Indies in the second of the five One-Day International (ODI) match against West Indies. Winning the toss, Pakistan elected to bat and were going strong with Azhar Ali and Sharjeel Khan looking good but Pakistan’s ODI skipper, Azhar, got out for 9. Sharjeel got a promising start but departed early for 24. Since then Shoaib Malik and Azam took center stage as the duo added 169 runs for the third wicket before Malik departed for a well made 90. Malik was attacking of the two but Azam played according to situation by changing gears when essential. West Indies have been poor with the bowl and their plight continued even today. They are in a must win situation to save the ODI series after being whitewashed in the Tweynty20 (T20I) series. FULL CRICKET SCORECARD: Pakistan vs West Indies, second ODI at Sharjah
Pakistan are coming to their own in ODIs after being ranked No. 9 in the ODI rankings if recent performances are to be taken into consideration. Pakistan thumped West Indies in the first ODI by 111 runs and will be looking to seal the fate of the series with another win here at Sharjah. Azhar’s inconsistent run with the bat in limited-overs continued as he fell for a single digit score but will be pleased with the efforts of his top and middle-order. Azam came into bat with the score at 36 for 1 and batted excellently for his 123 off 125 balls.
Malik was the attacker among the two when they were adding misery to West Indies bowling line-up but Azam made up for it with a fine century. Azam looked composed at the beginning and accelerated when required. Pakistan’s new ploy of rotating the strike well in middle overs kept them in good stead for the final overs but it was Malik’s occasional sixes which kept them under a good run-rate. ALSO READ: PAK vs WI, 2nd ODI: Azam slams second consecutive century
West Indies’ ODI skipper, Jason Holder, got the first wicket early of Pakistan’s skipper while Alzarri Joseph got the better of Sharjeel. Nonetheless, as has been the case with West Indies, they failed to apply pressure with ordinary fielding and average bowling in the crucial middle-overs which allowed Pakistan’s fightback.
Malik scored 90 off 84 balls which included three boundaries and six maximums. Azam did not disappoint as he carried on after losing his senior pro. Azam smacked nine hits to the fence along with one six. In this process, Azam also became the tenth Pakistani to register two consecutive tons in ODIs. With Pakistan always struggling to find suitable players for modern day ODI cricket, their problems seem to have been solved with players like Azam and Imad Wasim, lower down the order, prevailing well for them.
After Azam departed, Pakistan’s most talked about player and T20I skipper, Sarfraz Ahmed, scored a fifty along with cameo from Imad. Pakistan have made a big score against a side struggling to get bat on ball in this entire tour so far. West Indies batsmen are failing to perform due to big grounds in United Arab Emirates (UAE) and slowness of the pitch. West Indies have a humongous task to chase the target in hand as they have never chased a total in excess of 300 on 27 occasions. ALSO READ: Pakistan vs West Indies, 2nd ODI: Shoaib Malik and Babar Azam reach to respective half-centuries
Sarfraz ensured West Indies were on the mat throughout the first half as his quickest half-century in ODIs (44 balls) pushed the total in excess of 320. This is Pakistan’s highest total in ODIs batting first against any side. This is also the third highest total set up by a team in Sharjah and West Indies will surely feel the pressure of staying alive in the match and series.
Pakistan’s bowlers such as Hasan Ali, Imad, Mohammad Aamer and Mohammad Nawaz are in good form with wickets in their coloumn and will like to press hard for a well deserved series victory. Chasing under lights will be a stiff ask and this should be another cakewalk for the hosts. ALSO READ: PAK vs WI LIVE Streaming: Watch PAK vs WI 2nd ODI Live telecast & TV Coverage
Pakistan is carrying a good form the T20I series win in England. Coming from a victory in the one-off T20I against England, they maintained the form as they did not let the West Indies win a single match in the shorter format. The current T20I world champions did a below par job as they looked weak in all the departments. This is a big game for the tourists as they are on the verge of another series loss playing turning up for the longer format.
Brief scores:
Pakistan 337 for 5 in 50 overs (Babar Azam 123, Shoaib Malik 90, Sarfraz Ahmed 60; Jason Holder 2 for 51, Alzarri Joseph 2 for 62) vs West Indies.
