Pakistan went 1-0 up in their three match T20 series against West Indies, which is currently underway in Dubai. The two sides will clash again on Saturday at the Dubai International Stadium. If Sarfraz Ahmed's side post another victory, they will be clinching the series against the defending World T20 champions.
Left-arm spinner Imad Wasim remained magnificent in the 1st T20 on Friday as he picked up five wickets for 14 runs, his career best, which helped Pakistan to get a nine wicket win over the Caribbean nation.
West Indies were restricted to a score of 115 in 19.5 overs, but it took Pakistan just 14.2 overs to achieve the target. DJ Bravo remained the only batsman from the West Indies to shine in the match as he scored 55 runs off 54 balls. It didn't take Sarfraz's team much time to achieve the target as Babar Azam (49-ball 55) and Khalid Latif remained undismissed and did all their talking with the bat.
"I don't want to just say we didn't bat well, credit must go to Imad Wasim who bowled fantastically, anytime you get 5 for 14 in an international match you must be doing something right, and to get it in a T20 international is even better," West Indies skipper Carlos Brathwaite was quoted as saying by ESPN Cricinfo after the game.
"But these things happen. We are an aggressive team and I won't tell any of the guys in the room to lose their aggression, it is just a matter of being more situation-aware going into tomorrow's game."
Players like Kieron Pollard, Johnson Charles, Samuel Badree and Sunil Narine were not much impressive for the Caribbean side in the game, but they can be expected to make a turnaround on Saturday.
"Because we had one bad game it does not dent the belief we had in the 11 guys that took part, we understand that in professional sport you have ups and downs, today was a definite down for the team," Brathwaite added. "We didn't play like world champions, we didn't play like the No. 1 team in the world, and the result shows. Well played to Pakistan and tomorrow we will bring a better game."
Schedule
2nd T20: Pakistan vs West Indies is scheduled for a 8 pm local time (9:30 pm IST, 4 pm GMT) start on September 24.
Where to watch live
India: TV: Ten 3: Live Streaming: Ten Sports Live
Pakistan: TV: PTV Sports. Live streaming: PTV Sports live
US: TV: Willow TV