Shadab Khan stole the show on his debut, as Pakistan thrashed West Indies by six wickets at Kensington Oval in Barbados to go 1-0 up in the four-match T20 international series.
The home team was reeling at 37 for 2 in the seventh over when Pakistan skipper Sarfraz Ahmed handed the ball to Shadab, and the 18-year old made an impact straightaway, taking 2 wickets for 1 run in his first over. He finished his spell with impressive figures of three for seven which is now the most economical spell in the history of T20 international cricket in a complete four-over spell.
After being invited to bat first, West Indies went off to a poor start with Evin Lewis departing after being run out in the third over of the match by Ahmed Shehzad. Chadwick Walton and Marlon Samuels added 22-run for the second wicket before the latter was trapped by left-arm spinner Imad Wasim. After that, the reigning World T20 champions kept on losing wickets at regular intervals and only managed to breach the 100-run mark, thanks to an unbeaten 34 from captain Carlos Brathwaite. Their innings eventually ended on 111 for 8.
In reply, Pakistan reached the target with utmost ease in the 18th over. The visitors went off to a cautious start with their openers- Kamran Akmal and Ahmed Shahzad- adding 25 runs from 27 balls for the first wicket.
However, three wickets falling inside 24 runs put Pakistan in a spot of bother before a a 46-run stand between Babar Azam and Shoaib Malik set their team on course for an easy win. Malik and Sarfraz Ahmed then scored the remaining runs, as Pakistan registered its fifth consecutive win in the shortest format of the game.
Brief scores:
Pakistan 115 for 4 (Malik 38*, Azam 29, Holder 2-27) beat West Indies 111 for 8 (Brathwaite 34*, Shadab 3-7) by six wickets
Here is how Twitter reacted to the match:
When @SarfarazA_54 and team @TheRealPCB won 5th Consecutive T20I.#WIvPak #HamariTeam pic.twitter.com/2LxhqVsoNK
— Peshawar Zalmi (@PeshawarZalmi) March 26, 2017
https://twitter.com/mufc_affanf9/status/846043681329156096
Since September Pakistan have restricted WT20 runners up England to 135-7 & champions West Indies to 115-10, 144-9, 103-5 & 111-8. #WIvPak
— Freddie Wilde (@fwildecricket) March 26, 2017
Shadab Khan today 4-0-7-3 – the most economical four-over spell by a debutant in T20 Internationals history. #WIvPak
— Mazher Arshad (@MazherArshad) March 26, 2017
https://twitter.com/AllTimeBakchod/status/846060566548500481
It doesn't matter whr does he stand..He ll make sure he keeps on dropping catches.KamranAkmal is back so are chances for opp batsmen #WIvPAK
— Faisal Javed Khan (@FaisalJavedKhan) March 26, 2017
Wahab Riaz congratulates Kamran Akmal on stopping tthe ball without wicket-keeping gloves #WIvPAK #Cricket pic.twitter.com/e68KcDzdZe
— Saj Sadiq (@SajSadiqCricket) March 26, 2017
It seems West Indies struggling to find local sponsors. This series is titled as Brighto Paints presents Q Mobile Cup #Cricket #WIvPAK
— Saj Sadiq (@SajSadiqCricket) March 26, 2017