- Empty Seats and Dwindling Interest: Examining the Reasons for Low Turnouts in PSL Season 8 - February 17, 2023
- How can Pakistan Beat England in the T20 WC Final? - November 13, 2022
- The Hottest Team of PSL 2022 - February 20, 2022
First West Indies-Pakistan T20I has been called off as rain washed away the 9 overs game. West Indies posted just 85/5 in 9 overs as batsmen struggled to score runs easily against skillful Pakistani bowlers. Pakistan won the toss and elected to bowl first on an unpredictable Kensington Oval wicket on a cloudy day.
Both teams had to rush back to their dressing rooms right after the national anthems due to rain.
Dots, Sixes, and Wickets only
With an extra hour coming in as a variable in the game, it took 3 hours to see West Indian openers coming in at the crease. A good 3 hours delay meant both teams had 9 overs each to play. With dangerous West Indians batting first and setting up a total for the visitors, the game got more interesting to watch.
West Indies kept on losing the wickets consistently while batsmen struggled to rotate the strikes. Only Nicholas Pooran and Kieron Pollard score in double figures as Pakistani bowlers kept on taking the wickets regularly. Lendl Simmons retired hurt after debutant from Pakistan Mohammad Wasim hit him on the neck as the opener mishandled a bouncer.
Lewis left the crease after he mistimed a slow delivery of Hasan Ali while Pooran was caught in the circle by Shadab Khan while Gayle was caught on the long on off Mohammad Wasim. West Indies passed 50 runs mark after 5.2 overs but after Russell was caught by Rizwan off Usman Qadir, the inning looked to gloom a bit.
Pollard ends the inning the way he does
When West Indies were 51/4 in 6.1 and both Russell and Gayle had been sent back to the pavilion for cheap runs by young Pakistani bowlers, someone had to play an exceptional inning to bring the hosts back on track. Kieron Pollard came with an exceptional knock as the West Indian skipper scored crucial runs in the death overs. Against Pakistan’s main bowlers like Hasan Ali and Shaheen Afridi, Pollard went for two sixes and a four.
Hasan Ali bowled with variations, his slow bouncers and cutters kept the hosts quiet for the most part of the inning. He went wrong just once when pitched a length ball against Pollard who swung his bat and sent it over the deep square leg boundary without finding the middle of the bat. On the fourth ball of the last over, Pollard bisected the deep square leg and deep mid-wicket to send a short delivery of Shaheen Afridi for four runs.
A pull on the last ball going for a maximum over the deep square leg boundary meant West Indies had given Pakistan a target of 86 in 9 overs and with the run-rate being below 10. West Indies must be quite happy with the rain coming in the play for the second time to end the game in a draw, proving a bigger variable than an extra hour.
Both teams will face each other in the second T20I in Guyana, on July 31 at sharp 8 pm PST.
How was the debut of Mohammad Wasim?
Young and star pacer of Islamabad United, Mohammad Wasim Jr. had been given a cap for T20 international cricket by Pakistan’s legendary fast bowler Waqar Younus. Wasim is a right-arm fast-medium bowler and has the potential to provide a lower-order batsman’s role as well. He was being considered seriously for a debut after his senior teammate Fahim Ashraf had failed to deliver with both bat and ball.
His experience of playing for United in the PSL6 in UAE was a good one as 19 years old filled the gap of Fahim Ashraf in the group matches and became an important part of the side. He picked up 12 wickets in the tournament and scored some crucial runs in the lower order, becoming a natural replacement of Fahim in the national team. With the T20 world cup 2021 being just around the corner and Faheem Ashraf disappointing everyone, Wasim perhaps has the best chance of his life to make headlines.
On his debut, he looked in good shape and bowled with good pace and bounce. The universe boss, Chris Gayle, became the first wicket of 19 years old when the long-on fielder caught him on the first delivery of the 7th over. Earlier, Lendl Simmons had mishandled a bouncer of Mohammad Wasim Jr which caused him to leave the 22 yards.
Also Read About: Green Team Allies With Muzaffarabad Tigers as Official Social Media Partner
1 Comment
Bilal Rana
Great Effort Brother… Keep up.. One day you will be a become great writer