Man of the match hails his stint in Pakistan Super League after mesmerising spell
Pakistan’s Shadab Khan (R) celebrates with team captain/wicketkeeper Sarfraz after dismissing West Indies’ Sunil Narine during the first of four-T20I-match between Pakistan and West Indies at the Kensington Oval stadium in Bridgetown, Barbados, on Sunday
Bridgetown: Shadab Khan produced an outstanding debut performance as Pakistan completed a comfortable six-wicket victory over the West Indies in the first fixture of a four-match Twenty20 international series at Kensington Oval on Sunday.
Put in on a bright, breezy afternoon, the world champion hosts were restricted to 111 for eight off their allotted 20 overs with the tourists knocking off the runs with almost three overs to spare to extend their T20 winning streak over their rivals to four following a 3-0 sweep in the UAE last September.
Shoaib Malik’s unbeaten 38 and a 46-run fourth-wicket partnership with Babar Azam ensured Pakistan reached their target with relative comfort although they will be again concerned about the top order’s inability to take control of a modest challenge.
Brought on as the fifth bowler when the West Indies batted in what looked like ideal conditions, 18-year-old Shadab’s mesmerising mixture of leg-breaks and googlies earned him figures of three for seven, the most economical ever in the history of T20 international cricket by a debutant in a complete four-over spell.
“I gained a lot of confidence from my performance in this year’s Pakistan Super League,” said man of the match Shadab.
“I just hope I can continue from this good start and make more important contributions for Pakistan.”
West Indies only managed to get into three figures thanks to an unbeaten 34 from captain Carlos Brathwaite.
He dominated a 37-run eighth-wicket partnership with fellow-Barbadian Jason Holder, who was dismissed off the last delivery of the innings.
“It’s back to the drawing board again for us because it’s up to these same players to look at themselves in the mirror and honestly assess what’s going wrong,” said Brathwaite.
“At least I was able to get some runs which took some of the pressure off me personally.”
Shadab removed opening batsman and wicketkeeper Chadwick Walton and dangerous middle-order strokeplayer Lendl Simmons in his first over before adding the scalp of Sunil Narine in his second.
Kamran Akmal, back in the national T20 side after an absence of three years, deprived the newcomer a fourth wicket when he failed to hold on to a diving catch at backward point offered by Kieron Pollard.
For all the struggles they faced against Pakistan’s talented and varied bowling attack, the home side’s troubles started when Evin Lewis was run out in the third over of the match by Ahmed Shehzad’s direct hit from 40 metres out as the batsman attempted to complete a second run.
Marlon Samuels was unfortunate to be adjudged leg-before to Pakistan’s other slow bowler, Imad Wasim. Thereafter it was a combination of impatience and poor shot selection which the visitors capitalised upon.
Unlike the impressive showing by Pakistan’s newcomer, Rovman Powell failed to make any impact on his T20 international debut for the West Indies.
An all-rounder in the mould of fellow-Jamaican Andre Russell, who is now serving a one-year suspension from the game, Powell was trapped leg-before by medium-pacer Hasan Ali in the midst of the batting slide that effectively killed off any chance of the home side being competitive.
“There is no letting up from here,” was Sarfraz Ahmed’s definitive statement after the win that makes him just the third captain to commence his tenure at the helm in T20 internationals with five consecutive wins after compatriot Misbah-ul-Haq and Sri Lanka’s Kumar Sangakkara.
Fact Box
Scoreboard in the first T20 international between West Indies and Pakistan at Kensington Oval in Barbados on Sunday:
West Indies
E. Lewis run out 10
C. Walton lbw b Shadab 18
M. Samuels lbw b Imad 7
L. Simmons b Shadab 1
K. Pollard c Imad b Riaz 14
S. Narine c Imad b Shadab 1
R. Powell lbw b Hasan Ali 5
C. Brathwaite not out 34
J. Holder c Hafeez b Tanvir 14
Extras (lb3, w3, nb1) 7
Total (8 wkts, 20 overs) 111
Did not bat: S. Badree, K. Williams
Fall of wickets: 1-13 (Lewis), 2-35 (Samuels), 3-37 (Walton), 4-38 (Simmons), 5-42 (Narine), 6-49 (Powell), 7-74 (Pollard), 8-111 (Holder)
Bowling: Imad Wasim 3-0-12-1, Mohammad Hafeez 1-0-8-0, Sohail Tanvir 4-0-21-1 (1nb, 1w), Hasan Ali 4-0-25-1, Shadab Khan 4-0-7-3, Wahab Riaz 4-0-35-1 (2w)
Pakistan
K. Akmal c Lewis b Badree 22
A. Shehzad c Walton b Holder 13
B. Azam c Powell b Holder 29
M. Hafeez c and b Brathwaite 5
S. Malik not out 38
S. Ahmed not out 4
Extras (w3, nb1) 4
Total (4 wkts, 17.1 overs) 115
Did not bat: Imad Wasim, Shadab Khan, Sohail Tanvir, Wahab Riaz, Hasan Ali
Fall of wickets: 1-25 (Shehzad), 2-40 (Akmal), 3-49 (Hafeez), 4-95 (Azam)
Bowling: S. Badree 4-0-24-1 (1w), J. Holder 3.1-0-27-2, S. Narine 4-0-22-0, C. Brathwaite 3-0-18-1, K. Williams 2-0-14-0 (1nb, 1w), K. Pollard 1-0-10-0 (1w)
Result: Pakistan won by 6 wickets
Toss: Pakistan
Umpires: Gregory Brathwaite (WIS), Joel Wilson (WIS)
Match Referee: Jeff Crowe (NZL)
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