- NEWSDAY.CO.TT - A la Une - 13/Aug 04:30

Windies end 34-year drought with ODI series win over Pakistan

West Indies ended a 34-year One-Day International (ODI) series victory drought over Pakistan by romping to an emphatic 202-run triumph, and a 2-1 series win at Brian Lara Cricket Academy in Tarouba, on August 12. A combination of stellar performances from eventual man of the match and West Indies skipper Shai Hope (120 not out), and player of the series and fast bowler Jayden Seales (6/18), delivered a long-awaited sigh of relief for not only maroon fans, but a heavily-criticised head coach Daren Sammy. Put in to bat along a tricky surface in south Trinidad, West Indies were led to a competitive total of 294/6 courtesy Hope’s 18th ODI century knock of 120 not out. He was, however, ably supported by Justin Greaves’ unbeaten 43 alongside Evin Lewis’ (37) and Roston Chase’ (36) important contributions. In reply, Seales was relentless from the get-go, snapping up three wickets in his first two overs, before he, Motie and Chase combined to rattle Pakistan for 92 all out in 29.2 overs. Seales took no prisoners during his precise spells and completed an outstanding six-wicket haul for 18 runs from 7.2 overs. On ending such a lengthy ODI drought against Pakistan, captain Hope said he was, “extremely proud,” of the team. “We tend to stress on the negatives quite a lot in the Caribbean, but we forget those great things we do as a team. We defined home court very nice as I don’t think we lost an ODI series for the last two years. It’s great to see the guys pull this one off and create history,” he said in the post-match interview. [caption id="attachment_1171815" align="alignnone" width="1024"] West Indies fast bowler Jayden Seales in his delivery stride during the third CG United One-Day International match against Pakistan at the Brian Lara Cricket Academy in Tarouba, on August 12.[/caption] When West Indies batted, Brandon King’s (five) shabby performance at the top in this series continued as he again perished for a single-digit score in the third over. Lewis (37) and number three batsman Keacy Carty (17) took a few overs to settle as they stuttered to 27/1 after eight overs. Lewis slogged Naseem Shah for a six over wide long-on in the ninth over, but Pakistan’s swift rotation of bowlers stifled the maroon pair. Lewis targeted fast bowler Talat in the 13th over and blasted him for two sixes. The next over, however, he was caught on the long-on boundary attempting another big hit, out for a painstaking 37 from 54 balls. Only 11 runs came from the next five overs as Carty and new batsman Hope were kept at bay. Carty did not last, and was dismissed trapped in front his stumps, which carried West Indies to 68/3 after 19.1 overs. Sherfane Rutherford (15) and Hope scored slowly but the pair went on to build a 45-run stance, and set a firm foundation for those to come. Rutherford perished caught by Talat off Ayub’s off-spin which ushered Chase to join his captain out in the middle. The duo breathed new life into their innings as Hope clobbered Ayub for a six over midwicket, before caressing Hasan Nawaz for a boundary. Chase got into the swing of things by sweeping, then reverse sweeping Nawaz for back-to-back fours. Chase continued on to lift Hasan Ali for six and Nawaz for another, before flicking Naseem Shah for a boundary, as he and Hope rotated the strike nicely. Forty overs in, West Indies were 175/4. Shah shattered the partnership with a seamless yorker which rattled Chase’s stumps. Motie (five) struck a neat drive over cover for four, but top-edged the ball back to bowler Nawaz in the same over. With just seven overs remaining and West Indies at a precarious 194/6, Hope upped the ante with back-to-back sixes off Nawaz. Ahmed was not spared in the next over as he also conceded two sixes and a boundary in an 18-run over. Greaves flashed Ali for four and Hope brought up his 18th ODI century by unleashing a cover drive for four. Between the two, they slammed 53 runs from the final three overs to close on a competitive 294/6. Hope closed on 120 not out, while Greaves held on for a well-worked knock of 43 not out. Topping the bowling for Pakistan were Ahmed (2/34) and Shah (2/72). When Pakistan looked to respond, Seales provided a mesmersing start for the maroon as he snapped up three precious top-order wickets inside his two opening overs to put the hosts in the driver’s seat early on. Three balls into the innings, the robust fast bowler had left-handed batsman Saim Ayub edged to wicketkeeper Hope. Romario Shepherd conceded four byes in the second over, but when Seales returned in the third, Abdullah Shaffique played into the hands of Gudakesh Motie at mid-wicket, before skipper Mohammed Rizwan was bowled by the right-arm pacer, which sank Pakistan to 8/3 after just three overs. Key batsmen Babar Azam (nine) and Salman Agha (30) sought to settle the innings after a sloppy start. They each hit a four before Seales struck again, this time, trapping key batsman Azam in front his stumps, which spiralled Pakistan to 24/4. Agha and new batsman Nawaz (13) struggled to find their footing and despite two fours from the former off Motie, things never looked good for Pakistan as they got to 42/4 from 15 overs. Nawaz finally broke under pressure as Motie drew him out the crease and outwitted him with spin, for Hope to swoop down and stump him out. Talat was bowled by Chase in the next over, and eight runs later, Agha was brilliantly caught and bowled by Motie to propel Pakistan to 70/7. Mohammed Nawaz (23 not out) and Shah (six) put on a 22-run eighth-wicket stance. But when Shah was caught and bowled by Seales for his fifth scalp, the remaining two batsman had no response and the visitors crumbled for 92 all out. Seales finished with spectacular figures of 6/18, while Motie snared 2/37 and Chase 1/16. Hope finished the series as the highest run-scorer (207 runs) with Chase (138 runs) in second while Seales (ten) captured the most wickets ahead of second-placed Shah (five). Hope said it was crucial for him to play aggressively in the final ten overs as they looked to bolster their score. “I thought that in that situation it was very important for someone to go as deep as possible,” he said. “We wanted a better start to set the tone in the power play. I know I had to give the team the best finish, it’s something that we’ve all struggled with in the last games as well.” On Seales’ performance, he added, “He’s a quality bowler, a class act, always hits his areas, can move the ball both ways and gives his all for the team. I’m happy to see him progressing like that. He’s bowling much better now in the white-ball format.” Summarised scores: WEST INDIES 294/6 (50 overs) (Shai Hope 120 not out, Justin Greaves 43 not out, Evin Lewis 37, Roston Chase 36; Abrar Ahmed 2/34, Naseem Shah 2/72) vs PAKISTAN 92 (29.2 overs) (Salman Agha 30, Mohammad Nawaz 23 not out; Jayden Seales 6/18, Gudakesh Motie 2/37). West Indies won by 202 runs.   The post Windies end 34-year drought with ODI series win over Pakistan appeared first on Trinidad and Tobago Newsday.