Pakistan vs West Indies 2nd ODI: Mohammad Nawaz's brilliant bowling led Pakistan to comprehensive win
A convincing victory for Pakistan, as they gained a lead of 2-0 in the three-match ODI series
Mohammad Nawaz's four-fer led Pakistan to a 120-run victoryA score of 275 but defended spiritedly by Pakistan in 50 overs. Exemplary bowling for Pakistan bowlers and another classic example for West Indies shows how much they depend on Shai Hope to bat through the innings.
120-run stand by Babar-Imam leading to a defendable total
Pakistan, on winning the toss, opted to bat first. Fakhar Zaman fell for a low score of 17. Imam-ul-Haq and Babar Azam added 120-runs in partnership for the second wicket. However, after the dismissal of Imam-ul-Haq, scoring 72 off 72 in a run-out, Pakistan saw a mini batting collapse. Alzarri Joseph and Akeal Hosein walked through the middle order, dismissing Mohammad Rizwan (15), Mohammad Haris (6), Mohammad Nawaz (3) and Shadab Khan (22). Cameo played by Khushdil Shah (22) and unbeaten scores of 17 and 15 from the bats of Mohammad Wasim and Shaheen Shah Afridi ensured Pakistan finished with a formidable total. They scored 275 at a loss of 8 wickets in 50 overs.
Mohammad Nawaz and Wasim took seven wickets to break the visitors' backbone
In an attempt to defend the total, Shaheen Shah Afridi started the defense in style, taking the most crucial wicket of Shai Hope in the opening over. West Indies looked to revive with a 67-run partnership at the second wicket between Kyle Mayers and Shamarh Brooks; however, Mohammad Wasim clean bowled Mayers to get the breakthrough. Four balls later, Mohammad Nawaz dismissed Brandon King for a duck. After this, Nawaz went on to take three more crucial wickets in a span of 4 overs as he took Shamarh Brooks (42), Nicholas Pooran (25), and Rovman Powell (10). With all the power-hitters and possible chasers of the target gone, a lot was left for the lower middle order and tail-enders as West Indies were lingering at 117, losing six wickets. Following Nawaz's magical spell, Mohammad Wasim finished things off with a three-wicket haul. A collective effort by hosts restricted visitors to 155, giving them a clinical 120-run victory.
West Indies skipper Nicholas Pooran said, "Tough day for us. We bowled well in the first 40 overs. We gave 20 more runs, 250 would have been ideal for us. We need to review it (death bowling) and keep working. It's a new team as well, we are in [a] rebuilding stage, we can't get everything right. We learn from his experience. Credit must be given, Nawaz bowled amazingly. We couldn't build a partnership, we had to dig deep. There were soft dismissals. Today wasn't our day."
With a 2-0 lead in the series, Pakistan has grabbed 20 important World Cup Super League points from this series. They will look to grab another 10 points and make it a clean sweep at home. Though West Indies lost the series, they would like to finish on high and get those crucial 10 points. The final ODI will be played on 12th June, Sunday.