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IN PICS: Pakistan seal ODI series win

Sport360 staff 23:05 02/10/2016
Pakistan made it five wins out of five so far from this tour.

It turns out Babar Azam is Pakistan’s gift that keeps on giving. Just two days on from his maiden international hundred, a sumptuous 120 that setup victory in the opening ODI, he was at it again.

This time Babar registered 123 in another chanceless century that saw Pakistan make light of West Indies once more and seal a series win in the process.

Babar has now scored a combined 344 runs at 114.66 from the three T20Is and two ODIs of this tour, a remarkable return even when considering the tame West Indies challenge.

Piercing drives through cover, lofted ones over mid-on and a 360-degree milking of ones and twos have underpinned his efforts which have so far personified calmness and composure.

In Pakistan’s latest 59-run victory, that sees them take an unassailable 2-0 series lead, his 169-run third-wicket partnership with the equally prolific Shoaib Malik (90) set the platform for a mammoth looking Pakistan total of 337-5.

Sarfraz Ahmed’s unbeaten 60 from 47 balls ensured the West Indies would once again require the highest successful run chase in Sharjah’s long-standing history as he helped his side to 97 runs from the final ten overs.

That late surge, coupled with another disappointing outing with the bat for Azhar Ali (9), will have further ramped up pressure on the Pakistan captain with his T20I counterpart laying in waiting should Azhar get the axe.

It was only the 15th time in 226 ODIs at Sharjah that a team has posted more than 300, only the fifth since the turn of the millennium.

And for a West Indies outfit that has consistently looked short of ideas, lacking leadership and largely uncompetitive, it was always going to be a tough task.

For the fifth match in a row they were outplayed by their hosts and cut distracted figures in the field as Babar and Malik, in particular, put them to the sword.

The pair were ruthless, the West Indies lifeless, their bowling attack equally as blunt as it was toothless.

In reply, it looked as if Johnson Charles’ latest tame dismissal would set the tone for another woeful run chase, but Kraigg Brathwaite and Darren Bravo showed some long overdue fight.

The latter was brought to life after being struck on the helmet by a Mohammad Amir, spurring the left-hander on to respond with two boundaries in the over as West Indies finally warmed to a challenge in the UAE.

Captain Jason Holder had called on his batsmen to rotate the strike more often and keep the scoreboard ticking over. Brathwaite and Bravo did just that, manoeuvring the field and finally finding a way to combat the Pakistan spinners who have otherwise wreaked havoc.

Bravo was gifted a reprieve on 43 as he looked to hit a second ball in succession out of the Sharjah stadium but could only sky Mohammad Nawz to Azhar at cover. In keeping with his current woes, the Pakistan skipper somehow shelled the chance.

The pair put on 89 runs for the second wicket, Bravo (61) leading the way as batsman in maroon finally gave their side a platform to launch from.

A superb turn and throw from Hasan Ali in his follow through ran out Bravo with a direct hit to end his stylish innings before Marlon Samuels (57) took up the charge.

With power hitters littering their lower order the West Indies were positioning themselves well but ultimately they did not have enough in the tank and ended up downing tools towards the end rather than pursuing glory..

Though they could finally take a positive into the final ODI of the series, the day once again belonged to Pakistan and the brilliance of Babar.

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