GUYANA – Pakistan thrashed West Indies by six wickets in the decisive final fixture of a three-match one-day international series in Guyana on Tuesday.
Pakistan clinched the series 2-1.
Chasing a target of 234 runs, Pakistan managed to achieve the score in 43.1 overs. Shoaib Malik contributed 101 runs in the series winning the game.
Earlier, half-centuries by Shai Hope and Jason Mohammed had lifted the West Indies to 233 for nine.
Batting first after winning the toss, West Indies lost three early wickets for 68 in the 19th over when Shai Hope and Jason Mohammed joined together to add 101 runs for the fourth wicket stand.
Hope displayed admirable application in compiling a top score of 71, even if it took him as many as 97 deliveries to get to the 50-run mark.
However, they lost vital wickets in the quest for quick runs over the final overs of the innings, managing just 29 over the last five in which Pakistan captain Sarfraz Ahmed resorted to his faster bowlers to good effect.
Junaid Khan, who had accounted for Evin Lewis at the start of the innings following Jason Holder´s decision to bat first, returned to separate the pair of Hope and Mohammed, having the latter caught at the wicket.
On the heels of a 74-run defeat in the second match on Sunday which levelled the series at 1-1, the home side dropped 20-year-old fast bowler Alzarri Joseph and drafted in left-arm spinner Veerasammy Permaul for his first ODI in three-and-a-half years while Pakistan retained the same eleven that rebounded from defeat in the opening match.
The match started at 09:30 AM (local) 01:30 PM (GMT) and 06:30 PM on (Pakistan Standard Time) but the play was delayed for some time due to rain.
TV Listings: PTV Sports, Ten Sports
West Indies Squad
JO Holder*, D Bishoo, JL Carter, ML Cummins, ST Gabriel, SD Hope†, AS Joseph, E Lewis, JN Mohammed, AR Nurse, KOA Powell, R Powell, CAK Walton
Pakistan Squad
Sarfraz Ahmed*†, Ahmed Shehzad, Asif Zakir, Babar Azam, Fahim Ashraf, Fakhar Zaman, Hasan Ali, Imad Wasim, Junaid Khan, Kamran Akmal†, Mohammad Amir, Mohammad Asghar, Mohammad Hafeez, Shadab Khan, Shoaib Malik, Wahab Riaz.
