Tarouba, Trinidad and Tobago, Aug 13 (AP) — In a significant victory for West Indies cricket, Shai Hope delivered an exceptional performance with a century, leading the Caribbean team to a decisive series-clinching 202-run victory over Pakistan. This marks the first time West Indies has won a bilateral ODI series against Pakistan since 1991, halting a streak of home series losses in both the test and Twenty20 formats to both Australia and Pakistan.
Hope's remarkable unbeaten 120 runs were complemented by the pace bowler Jayden Seales, who played a pivotal role in dismantling Pakistan’s chase with an impressive six-wicket haul in the third and final one-day international of the series.
West Indies captain declared his pride in his team’s performance, stating that recent discussions focused largely on negatives in the game. Now, however, there are "positives to shout about" in West Indies cricket.
This resounding victory follows a critical two-day emergency summit for Caribbean cricket. Shai Hope, along with legends like Brian Lara and Clive Lloyd, attended parts of the summit to devise strategies to return the West Indies to the upper echelons of the international cricketing scene. The summit was sparked after a catastrophic showing where the West Indies lineup scored a mere 27 runs in its second innings, coming close to the all-time record for the lowest test total, in their third consecutive test loss to Australia.
Subsequently, the West Indies endured eight consecutive defeats to Australia, followed by a 2-1 loss in the Twenty20 series to Pakistan in Florida. After losing the first ODI series opener to Pakistan by five wickets last week, the West Indies rallied to even the series with a five-wicket win in the second ODI, which set the stage for their dominating performance in the third and deciding match.
In this climactic encounter at Brian Lara Stadium in Tarouba, Trinidad and Tobago, the West Indies posted a formidable 294-6. Hope struck five sixes and ten fours in his 94-ball innings, forming an impressive unbroken seventh-wicket stand with Justin Greaves, amassing 110 runs in roughly eight overs. Greaves was not out at 43 off just 24 balls, including two sixes and four fours.
Pakistan, in its pursuit, faltered early on, finding themselves at 23-4 by the ninth over, with three of their top four batsmen dismissed without scoring. The opening batsman, Saim Ayub, was caught behind in the first over, followed by Abdullah Shafique's failure to score. The situation worsened when captain Mohammad Rizwan was bowled by Seales for a golden duck in the third over.
Seales continued his demolition, trapping Babar Azam (9) lbw, concluding his efforts with figures of 6-18 from 7.2 overs. Hasan Nawaz (13) was stumped by Gudakesh Motie, and Roston Chase bowled Hussain Talat (1), reducing Pakistan to 62-6 in the 21st over. Salman Agha was Pakistan's top-scorer with a 49-ball 30.
The match and series wrapped up with another golden duck as Abrar Ahmed was run out by Chase. (AP)
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