Weather sees Pakistan walk away with 1-0 win, denies Bravo chance to sign-off in style


Babar Azam’s Pakistan on Tuesday won the four-match series 1-0 but it was the weather that once again had the last laugh at the National Stadium in Providence, Guyana. 

Pakistan managed as many as three complete overs against Kieron Pollard’s West Indies. It was better than the eight balls the teams managed on Sunday but not quite as many as the nine overs completed in Wednesday’s 1st T20I in Barbados.

Photo: Pakistan captain Babar Azam.

With both teams unchanged from Sunday’s water-soaked eight-ball debacle, Azam called correctly and again invited the home side to take first strike.

The home side progressed rapidly to 30 without loss off one over of spin and two of pace.

Presumably acutely aware of his perceived vulnerability against the slower stuff, Andre Fletcher twice blasted off-spinner Mohammad Hafeez over the ropes in his first over. In the first game on Wednesday, Hafeez had bowled him like a dunce after he had twice suffered the same fate against Australian leg-spinner Adam Zampa in the previous series. 

Azam replaced the off-spinner with Hasan Ali, who managed to restrict the Grenadian opener to a single boundary before the heavens decided enough was enough.

At the other end, Chris Gayle had no such perceived susceptibility to pace to inspire him. Having taken a pair of fours off Mohammad Wasim Jr, he would get no further chance to show off his wares.

Photo: Veteran West Indies batting star Chris Gayle delivers an off-break.

And so a generally unsatisfying series, which yielded a mere 80 balls of cricket apart from Saturday’s exciting Game 2 which the tourists won by 7 runs, came to an unsatisfactory end. 

And it was doubly unsatisfying for long-serving West Indies all- rounder Dwayne Bravo who, his skipper revealed, was playing his last match in front of a Caribbean audience and would have liked to go out in style as befits a champion. 

Bravo will not be in action when the two teams go on to Jamaica for two Tests, the first of which begins next Thursday, 12 August, and the second on the following Friday, 20 August.

A two-time T20I World Cup winner, Bravo represented the West Indies in 40 Tests (2,200 runs and 86 wickets); 164 ODIs (2,968 runs and 199 wickets) and 85 T20Is (1,229 runs and 76 wickets).

Photo: Veteran West Indies all-rounder Dwayne Bravo.
(via CWI Media)

MATCH SUMMARY

Toss: Pakistan

West Indies: 30 for 0 (3 overs) (A. Fletcher 17*, C Gayle 12*)

Pakistan: DNB

Result: No result

Pakistan win four-match series 1-0

More from Wired868
Russell, Holder join WI T20 squad to face England; Pooran asks to be rested

West Indies have added veteran allrounders Andre Russell and Jason Holder to their T20 International squad, as they prepare for Read more

1975 CWC: New Zealand, Pakistan and the chasing Cricket World Cup pack

(Part 29.) Contenders and pretenders. With 22 days to go to the 50th anniversary of the West Indies victory over Read more

Rampant Romario rescues RCB in IPL, moves the maroon up from half-mast

Take a bow, Romario Shepherd. At a time when the Caribbean front-runners aren’t exactly covering themselves in glory, the Guyanese Read more

Six-hitting Pooran likened to Universe Boss; will CWI take chain-up?

Former West Indies T20 captain Nicholas Pooran has been in sublime form in recent times. But is there enough in Read more

Kraigg steps down as Test captain; Hope replaces Powell as T20I skipper

West Indies opener Kraigg Brathwaite has stepped down as Test captain and is expected to play in the upcoming home Read more

Sammy could be asset to WI Test ambitions, IF he can woo Windies’ white ball stars

I support Melbourne Cricket Club president Mark Neita’s view that the best white ball players should play Test cricket for Read more

Check Also

Russell, Holder join WI T20 squad to face England; Pooran asks to be rested

West Indies have added veteran allrounders Andre Russell and Jason Holder to their T20 International …

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.