KARACHI: Pakistan outclassed woeful West Indies by eight wickets in the third and last contest to clinch the three-match T20I series 3-0 at National Stadium here on Tuesday. This clean sweep of the visitors also helped Pakistan maintain their number one ICC T20I Ranking. Pakistan won the first match by 143 runs and the second by 82 runs. Chasing 154-run target, in-form opener Babar Azam (51) scored another half-century in the series. Fakhar Zaman provided early momentum to the Sarfraz Ahmed -led team with his 40 runs off 17 balls, including six fours and two sixes. Middle-order batsmen Hussain Talat (31) and Asif Ali (28) took the innings to the victory stand with their solid partnership. This is Pakistan’s third T20I series win by 3-0 margin, the most by any team. No other team have managed to make a clean sweep in a three-match series more than twice. It is also the green shirts’ 17th win in the last 20 games since Sarfraz took over Pakistan’s captaincy. Moreover, it is the seventh series win under Sarfraz captaincy. It’s very interesting to note that green shirts have not lost a series since he took over the captaincy in 2016, after World T20.
Fletcher half-century powers West Indies to 153: Earlier, courtesy a sure-footed half-century by Andre Fletcher complimented with Denesh Ramdin’s blistering cameo, West Indies posted a fighting total of 153 runs against the hosts. Opener Fletcher anchored the innings at the top; scoring 52 off 43 balls. Wicketkeeper batsman Ramdin scored a whopping 42 runs in 18 balls with the help of three sixes and four fours. The end part of the innings was particularly productive for the West Indies, who went from 96-5 in 15.1 overs to their eventual score of 153-6. For Pakistan, spinners Shadab Khan and Muhammad Nawaz stood out with figures of 2-27 and 1-26 respectively. Pakistan made two changes in their squad as Shaheen Shah Afridi and Usman Shinwari made their place in the final-playing 11 while fast bowlers Muhammad Amir and Hasan Ali were given rest.
Published in Daily Times, April 4th 2018.