Maroc - NEWSDAY.CO.TT - A la Une - 01/Aug 19:26

Pakistan grab 1-0 lead in T20 series over West Indies

West Indies painfully continued their losing streak as they fell to a 14-run defeat to Pakistan in the first T20 in their three-match series at the Central Broward Regional Park in Lauderhill, Florida, on July 31. After succumbing to a 5-0 loss to Australia in their preceding T20 series, it was a sixth straight loss in the format for the regional team who have now lost 17 of their last 20 completed T20 matches. For the Windies, it was a quick turnaround as their T20 series with Australia concluded on July 28 in St Kitts and Nevis. For starters, captain Shai Hope won the toss – something he was unable to do for the Aussie series – and sent Pakistan to have first strike. On a relatively slow surface, the Pakistanis posted a solid score of 178 for six with opening batsman Saim Ayub leading the way with 57 off 38 balls as part of a fine allround performance which also saw him grabbing two for 20. After pacer Shamar Joseph (three for 30) had Sahibzada Farhan (14) trapped lbw in the fourth over, Ayub and new batsman Fakhar Zaman (28) stitched together an 81-run partnership for the second wicket to set a good foundation for the Pakistanis. Pakistan were on 107 for two when Ayub fell via the lbw route to Jason Holder (one for 35) and then 110 for three when Zaman was dismissed by Joseph shortly after. The Windies picked up three wickets at the death, but the Pakistanis were still able to muster 52 runs in the last five overs as Hassan Nawaz (24 off 18) and Faheem Ashraf (15 off nine) chipped in with handy cameos. In the chase, the West Indies had a decent start through the power play overs – 47 without loss – through Johnson Charles (35 off 36) and debutant Jewel Andrew (35 off 33). However, both batsman, as well as the West Indies' top and middle-order, were stifled by the spin of the Pakistan team as the hosts' pursuit of 179 became a painstaking one. After the Windies crawled to the ten-over mark at 63 without loss, left-arm spinner Mohammad Nawaz (three for 23) cast his spell on the West Indies batsmen as he had Andrew, Charles and Gudakesh Motie (golden duck) all dismissed in the 12th over. West Indies were on 75 for three at that stage and the domino effect was seen thereafter as they stumbled to 110 for seven by the 17th over as Hope (two), Sherfane Rutherford (11) Roston Chase (five) and Romario Shepherd (12) all fell cheaply. Requiring an improbable 69 off the last 23 balls, the writing was on the wall for coach Daren Sammy's team. Holder (30 not out off 12) and Joseph (21 not out off 12) hit four and two sixes respectively in a 54-run partnership for the eighth wicket, but could only take the Windies to 164 for seven as the Pakistanis assumed a 1-0 series lead. The second T20 bowls off in Florida from 8 pm on August 2, with the third and final T20 being contested on August 3. Summarised Scores: PAKISTAN – 178/6 from 20 overs (Saim Ayub 57, Fakhar Zaman 28, Hassan Nawaz 24; Shamar Joseph 3/30, Romario Shepherd 1/29) vs WEST INDIES – 164/7 from 20 overs (Jewel Andrew 35, Johnson Charles 35, Jason Holder 30 not out; Mohammad Nawaz 3/23, S Ayub 2/20). Pakistan won by 14 runs. The post Pakistan grab 1-0 lead in T20 series over West Indies appeared first on Trinidad and Tobago Newsday.