Khan spins Pakistan to 2-0 lead

For the majority of the match, Pakistan looked to be behind and despite impressive bowling efforts from wily off-spinner Sunil Narine (3/22) and captain Carlos Brathwaite (3/37), the visitors managed to post a challenging total of 132 all out from their 20 overs with the last two overs going for 24 runs.

But in their chase, it was a similar narrative to the opening T20 with Pakistan’s 18-year-old leg-spinner and Man-of-the-Match Shadab Khan doing significant damage to their top and middle order.

Khan, who had astounding figures of three wickets for seven overs from four stingy overs in Barbados, was again a thorn in the Windies side with only Marlon Samuels playing him with any degree of comfort. But when Khan had him caught behind off a googly in the 13th over for a well-played 44 from 35 balls, the match had swung Pakistan’s way.

It was the last ball of the match for Khan who had four for 14 from his four. Wickets kept tumbling for the hosts and it was left up to Narine and Jason Holder in the last over to get 14 for victory.

Back-to-back boundaries by Narine off pacer Hasan Ali’s first two balls had Windies fans at the Oval singing MX Prime’s soca hit “hold them and wuk them”. But Narine could not deliver another big hit and was run out off the penultimate delivery to leave Holder to get five in the last ball after Ali had bowled a wide. But Holder could not deliver the killer blow as the Windies succumbed to another defeat.

Earlier, the Windies put in another mediocre batting display with only Samuels showing any conviction and confidence at the crease. Opener Evin Lewis was bizarrely run out for three in the second over, looking to pinch a single, he collided with mid-off fielder Shadab Khan as he crossed the line and lost his bat but despite being well past the crease, both feet were off the ground when Imad Wasim’s throw shattered the stumps and the third umpire had no choice but to send him back to the pavilion. Windies coach Stuart Law and Brathwaite were incensed and could be seen in debate with match officials.

There was another collision in the fourth over but this time Pakistan lost a man as Ahmed Shehzad was rushed to St Clair Medical Hospital in an ambulance after sustaining back and neck injuries following a nasty clash with non-striker Chadwick Walton after Samuels had called him for a quick single.

Desperate to not suffer the fate of his opening partner, Walton responded quickly to Samuels’ call and could not get out of the way as Shehzad closed in from point to take a shy at the stumps and bulldozed him with the batsman, fielder and bat flying in different directions.

However, Shehzad returned to the field during the latter stages of the match.

The frightening episode did not seem to faze Walton, hoisting Hasan next over twice through the vacant midwicket area for boundaries.

Samuels seemed to have a personal battle with leg-spinner Shadab Khan, making a point to show the bowler continued replays of his cut shot that brought up a boundary in his first over.

The Jamaican treated pacer Imad Wasim with complete disdain, lashing him for two sixes and a perfectly timed straight drive for four in an over that cost 19.

Khan, however, didn’t take too long to settle into a groove, and dismissed Walton bowled first ball in his second over with a delivery that deceived the Jamaican in flight. Samuels, making a concerted effort to unsettle the young leg-spinner, took him for a four before the over ended.

New batsman Lendl Simmons lasted just two balls, trapped LBW on the front foot off Hasan Ali but again Samuels countered with backto- back fours through the covers to keep the Windies ahead of the runrate.

Khan was working his magic on the other end, though, taking two quick wickets in the 11th over to show his heroics in the first match were no fluke. New batsman Kieron Pollard charged down the track and wafted air and was stumped by Sarfraz Ahmed while Rovman Powell saw his off-stump disturbed while playing back to a ball he should have played forward to first ball.

Sensing the precarious position of the match, Samuels tamed his aggression and looked to play out Khan’s last over but a googly off the last ball kissed his bat and was pouched by wicketkeeper to make it 81 for six after 13 overs.

Samuels’ 44 came off 35 balls with five fours and two sixes.

Brathwaite and the Windies Test and ODI captain Jason Holder took the Windies within striking distance with 30 needed off 18 but Brathwaite was clean bowled by left-arm pacer Wahab Riaz in the 19th over to make it 114 for seven with 10 balls to go which proved too much to overcome.

Carlos Brathwaite’s captaincy was on point though, sending in Pakistan to bat before taking three wickets, two catches and executing a simple run out in limiting Pakistan to 132.

Pakistan lost their first wicket without a run on the board when Kamran Akmal tried to cut a straight delivery by Samuel Badree in the first over and saw his stumps rattled.

Holder had a poor bowling performance, with his first two overs going for 18. Carlos Brathwaite brought himself into the attack and needed just five balls to get the desired result, inducing Babar Azam into a loose drive off a wide delivery that he nicked to wicketkeeper Chadwick Walton.

Pakistan were struggling, and Ahmed Shehzad was next to go, looking to up the scoring rate, flicked a Sunil Narine delivery to Brathwaite at short mid-wicket who gleefully accepted the offering as Pakistan slipped to 43 for three in the ninth over.

Fakhar Zaman, taking the risk of attacking the economical Badree, was just shy of clearing the ropes on his slog sweep but the six-foot seven Holder tiptoed close to the ropes to take the catch.