Imad Wasim (3/21) was West Indies' wrecker-in-chief yet again as Pakistan delivered a statement of intent by registering a 3-0 in whitewash in the Twenty20 Interational series, defeating West Indies by eight wickets in the third Twenty20 International on Tuesday in Abu Dhabi.
Like the last two T20Is, Pakistan were hardly stretched during the chase, being set a target of 104. Marlon Samuels' laboured unbeaten 42 took his side to 103/5 after Sarfraz Ahmed decided to field first. Debutant medium pacer Kesrick Williams (2/15) was the sole bright light for the beleaguered world champions as Pakistan cruised home by eight wickets, steered by a breezy knock by Shoaib Malik (43 from 34).
For the third time in succession, the West Indies innings was left in tatters at the end of the powerplay overs, by the spinners and Sohail Tanvir. The left-arm pacer was not among the wickets this time but proved very economical, further increasing the pressure on West Indies.
Wasim's success this series has been the excellent rate at which he has attacked the stumps, while cleverly varying his pace. Yet again, the batsmen had no answer. Johnson Charles, Chadwick Walton, and Dwayne Bravo were all bowled. Andre Fletcher committed professional suicide as he was caught stranded on mid-pitch, taking off for a non-existent single.
Pollard and Samuels struggled hard to clear the ropes in the final overs to lend the West Indies bowlers a competitive target to bowl at. The guile of Tanvir and Co proved to be too much to handle even for the seasoned West Indian big-hitters.
Pakistan always looked in control of the chase, and it was Khalid Latif who was finding the boundaries. Williams, with his loopy medium pace, struck twice in an over to give West Indies a sniff. Both, Sharjeel Khan and Latif were dismissed through well worked deliveries.
Another rising talent of Pakistan, Babar Azam, decided to drop anchor as veteran Malik went after the bowling, and helped Pakistan get over the line with utmost disdain to complete the whitewash.
Brief Scores:
West Indies 103/5 in 20 overs (Marlon Samuels 42 not out, Nicholas Pooran 16; Imad Wasim 3/21) lost to Pakistan 108/2 in 15.1 overs (Kesrick Williams 2/15) by eight wickets
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