All-round Shadab Khan fashions 3-0 sweep of West Indies
Akeal Hosein hit a rapid 60, while Nicholas Pooran surprisingly got four wickets, but visitors fell short in the end
Akeal Hosein hit a rapid 60, while Nicholas Pooran surprisingly got four wickets, but visitors fell short in the end
Scorer: Ranjith P | Commentator: S Sudarshanan
12:30am PCB chairperson Rameez Raja thanks the stakeholders as well as the crowds in Multan and both the teams to have played in the extreme heat. Pakistan have now moved to the fourth spot in the Super League Championship standings. That concludes this West Indies tour of Pakistan. Hope you enjoyed our coverage as much as we did in bringing it to you. Thanks for joining us tonight. On behalf of Ranjith and Ankur, this is S Sudarshanan signing off. See you. Ciao!
Babar Azam, Pakistan captain: "We could execute the plans and are giving 100% in all departments and the results are there to see. Nawaz's bowling in the second match was vital and that decided the series for us. So it was the best for us in the series. We had to check the bench strength as well as utilise the seniors. We are trying different combinations with bat and bowl. We will try to keep continuity and keep testing. We have different areas of improvements as each of the three games showed. We hope to learn from our mistakes and get better. (On his form) I try to play positive cricket and try to play the situation. The conditions were differently in each of the games."
Nicholas Pooran, West Indies captain: "The last two games were disappointing for us. We played poorly with the bat. We did well as a team and going forward that will be the template. (Akeal Hosein) He is someone who has been working hard with the ball and with the bat. He tells everyone he is a batsman and well done to him. Really proud of the players to take on the challenge. Looking forward to being smart with the body in the series against Bangladesh."
Ahmad: "I have been following cricinfo for over a decade!Just love the way these guys commentate!When match is in tight situation, I tend to switch off the LED and switch towards cricinfo!"
Imam-ul-Haq, player of the series: "Feels nice. It's about the process and I was working hard. Feels special and happy to play with these bunch of players. I haven't changed much. After 2019 we haven't played much ODIs and so that takes time. It's just the confidence of doing well in back-to-back games. (With Babar) It's been 11 years that we know each other and we know each other's game. So when there is pressure, we talk a lot and it helps."
Shadab Khan, player of the match: "It's difficult after the injuries because the confidence is down. But it feels good to do well. The talk between Khushdil and me was to take it deep with the power--hitters in the ranks. I bowled better in the first two games but got wickets tonight, thanks to Almighty. But I will try and do better."
West Indies were done in by some reckless batting. As Shadab spoke during the mid-innings break, the pitch was good for batting with the ball not gripping on it for the spinners. And the batters who could hit through the line - Hosein, Shepherd, Carty - only asserted the fact. But for West Indies to pull one back, those knocks needed to be much more than just cameos. It was not to be. And that perhaps sums up the entire series, especially for West Indies. Twice in two matches, they had Pakistan on the floor with the bat, only for the hosts to escape to a score from where winning was easy. Utter domination from Pakistan, but not without chances. Stay tuned, presentations in a bit.
Salman Sherazi: "This series victory looks even more great with the crowd we have in these three games. Almost packed houses have seen this clean sweep. People of Multan and South Punjab have responded to the call. Hope they get more games in further when the likes of England and NZ visit Pakistan in near future."
This is a game that has the Shadab Khan mark all over. You glance at the scorecard and will see him having a lion's share in Pakistan's batting and then made inroads with the ball, including that of the key man Akeal Hosein, who was threatening to take West Indies home, to finish with four wickets for 62 runs. Talk about someone having a perfect ODI match, the legspinning allrounder is surely one, having made a successful return from injuries.
Azweer: "WI could have easily cake walked to the target, if they had wickets .. but, well played Pakistan and a memorable innings from Akeal."
12:03am Celebrations all around at the Multan Cricket Stadium as Pakistan register a 3-0 clean sweep. Hugs and smiles all around for the men in green and why not! They have been as clinical as they can be at home. It's a real missed opportunity for West Indies tonight, not having enough wickets in the bank despite the target always being gettable. Surely these must be the thoughts as the players shake hands, warmly greeting the opposition. The PSL has ensured that very few of these players are 'strangers'.
R Shepherd c Babar Azam b Hasan Ali 16 (44m 25b 1x4 1x6) SR: 64.00
The question towards the end of the first innings was if Shadab could get a ton. Now it is about if he can get a fifer. Hasan Ali is back now.
Ahsan: "You know real Shadab is back when he can ball googly at will!"
Jayden Seales the last man in.
Furqan: "W.I clearly need to rethink their approach atleast in 50 overs Cricket. They have scores 120 runs in boundaries (10 sixes and 15 fours) along with 17 extras. Pak got to this score after being 117/5 with some sensible batting where even Khushdil didnt tried to hit a six."
HR Walsh lbw b Shadab Khan 3 (10m 10b 0x4 0x6) SR: 30.00
"People said we couldn't chase 350. We did [against Australia], and our bowling also defended totals"
He admitted the team's shortcomings, but found positives in Hosein's all-round game and the players' character
Akeal Hosein hit a rapid 60, while Nicholas Pooran surprisingly got four wickets, but visitors fell short in the end
Game was suspended by a dust storm in Multan, leading two overs being sliced off the contest
Babar and Imam continue scoring buckets of runs, and Shaheen continues to take new-ball wickets. But what about the rest?