WATCH: All-round show by star cricketer helps Pakistan beat West Indies in first T20 match

Pakistan began their three-match T20I series against the West Indies on a winning note with a 14-run triumph in the first game in Florida on Friday. Salman Ali Agha’s side extended the losing run of the West Indies in T20I cricket to six now after their home side were whitewashed 5-0 by Australia recently.

The star of Pakistan’s win was opener Saim Ayub, who scored his first T20I fifty since December 2024, and then also claimed a couple of wickets with the ball. The visitors post 178 for 6 after being sent into bat with Ayub smashing 57 off 38 balls at the top of the order.

WATCH Saim Ayub score a fifty against West Indies in the first T20I HERE…

 

Ayub’s knock were studded with two sixes and five fours as he bought up his fifty off 34 balls. He put on 81 runs for the second wicket with Fakhar Zaman, who scored 28 off 24 balls with one six and two fours.

“It was a challenging pitch to bat, it was in our mind to build partnership and not panic. We have plans, but they’re flexible according to the moment. We look at the conditions, decide our shots and strategy, it’s all about staying in the present moment,” Ayub said after the first T20I on Friday.

“The pitch limited our shots, we needed to be a lot more focused. Whatever role my team demand, I’ll do it, it wasn’t my best bowling effort though,” he added.

Mohammad Nawaz was pick of Pakistan bowlers

While defending the target, after conceding 20 runs in his first three overs, left-arm spinner Mohammad Nawaz dramatically shifted the contest. He started the 12th over with a breakthrough to dismiss Andrew for 35 and end a 72-run opening stand and he added the wickets of Johnson Charles (35) and Gudakesh Motie (0) on the fourth and fifth balls of the same over as the West Indies slumped to 75 for 3.

Windies captain Shai Hope (2) scooped a full delivery from Ayub into the deep in the next over as West Indies lost four wickets for five runs. Ayub was picked as the player of the match for his half-century and bowling return of 2/20.

Some lusty tail-end hitting from all-rounder Jason Holder, who struck four sixes in his unbeaten, 12-ball 30, and Shamar Joseph, who hit 21 from 12, helped West Indies to 164 for 7 and made the final margin more respectable.

Pakistan captain Salman Ali Agha said his team ‘started strong and finished even better’. “It was a great game, we assessed the conditions well, batted and finished well, we started well with the ball, the middle overs were outstanding and the spinners were superb. We didn’t take a wicket in the first 10 overs, but we controlled the game,” Salman Agha said at the post-match presentation.

“The 11th over, we got three wickets and that was the turning point. Once the ball got older, it was tough to bat against spin and I was waiting for the moment. The pitch was the same for both teams – you could score against the new ball, but once the ball went old, it started to grip and turn for the spinners, making batting very difficult,” he added.

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