Daily Times

Sarfraz Ahmad and his charges gave a clinical performance in the last one-day international to win the three-match series 2-1 in Guyana on Tuesday. The victory has given a much-needed boost to Pakistan cricket which is in the news for all the wrong reasons for the last two months: Pakistan Super League II spot-fixing saga. A brilliant 113-run partnership between veterans Shoaib Malik – who reached his ninth ODI century – and Mohammad Hafeez steered Pakistan to the six-wicket triumph. Chasing a modest total of 234, the unpredictable Pakistan got off to an eventful start once again, losing three scalps for just 45, and were looking shaky. But with experienced Hafeez and Malik at the crease together, and with 430 ODIs between them, there was a hope. And the duo did help the visitors to turn the tide. Malik, with a fine display of controlled stroke-play, carried the bat with ease and completed his ton in style with a straight six off Jason Holder. No doubt, Malik produced one of the most sublime innings of his career, while Hafeez answered his critics with dazzling a 81 coming off 86 balls with two sixes and eight fours. The under-fire all-rounder completely dominated the partnership and took all the pressure off Malik.

Having slipped to 68 for the loss three wickets, with a run rate well under four, West Indies did manage to post 233 due to Shai Hope and Jason Mohammed who combined for a 101-run partnership to set their team on course for a competitive total. Hope displayed admirable application in compiling a top score of 71, even if it took him as many as 97 deliveries to get to the 50-run mark. The West Indies’ batsmen were not able to withstand a sustained spell of pressure from the Pakistan bowlers. Though pacers Mohammad Amir and Junaid Khan claimed two wickets apiece but Imad Wasim was brilliant, bolstering his credentials as a genuine ODI all-rounder following on from his impressive batting performance in the previous match. His consistent line and length was the major reason for West Indies’ slow scoring during the middle overs. West Indies lost vital wickets in the quest for quick runs in the final overs of the innings, managing just 29 in the last five in which Pakistan captain Sarfraz resorted to his faster bowlers to good effect.

The series was a big opportunity for Pakistan to consolidate their position on the ICC ODI Team Rankings in their bid to qualify directly for the ICC World Cup 2019. But Pakistan were not able to win all three matches to improve their position and remained on the eighth spot. In brief, both West Indies and Pakistan have failed to make the most of the opportunity to strengthen their positions for direct qualification to the ICC World Cup 2019 as their ODI series ended in Pakistan’s favour. West Indies won the first match with their highest ever chase of 309 but failed to maintain the momentum which could have taken them to 87 points with a 3-0 win, ahead of their rivals by a fraction. Pakistan could similarly have moved up to 92 points, edging ahead of seventh-placed Bangladesh by a fraction had they won all three matches. In the end, there was not too much movement as Pakistan gained one point to reach 90 points on the ICC ODI Team Rankings to remain on eighth position while West Indies lost one point to also remain on their pre-series ninth position with 83 points.