WI vs PAK | Holder’s last-ball heroics helps West Indies square three-match T20I series

‌Jason Holder had a dream outing as he pulled West Indies out of the rut with his all-round performance in the second T20I against Pakistan in Lauderhill, Florida. He picked up four wickets before turning hero with the bat with a last-ball boundary to guide the hosts to a two-wicket win in a low-scoring thriller on Sunday.

Opting to bat first at the Central Broward Regional Park Stadium Turf Ground, Pakistan started shakily with Jason Holder dismissing in-form opener Saim Ayub in just the second over of the match. In his next over, the West Indies all-rounder sent back the other opener Sahibzada Farhan, before taking an excellent catch in Akeal Hosein’s next, to see the back of Mohammad Haris. With Shamar Joseph bowling a tight first over in the powerplay, the Men in Green ended the six-over mark at a sorry-looking 24/3. Captain Salman Agha and Fakhar Zaman tried to inject some momentum into the batting innings with 18 runs in the ninth over off Gudakesh Motie, which included a six and two fours. But they were back to square one as Roston Chase struck with his first ball in the match to shorten Fakhar’s stay to a 19-ball 20 with the visitors placed at 57/4 at the halfway mark. Salman (38) and new batter Hasan Nawaz set about rebuilding the visitors’ innings with the former targeting Motie again for two fours in his third over. Nawaz also hit the throttle with a six and four off Joseph before smashing three consecutive sixes off Romario Shepherd in the next over. But Holder was reintroduced into the attack and the former Windies skipper rewarded instantly to dismiss Nawaz. He caught the batter off his own bowling to end his knock of 40, including four sixes and a four, off 23 balls. Once the fifth wicket partnership of 60 was broken, Pakistan could not do much as their innings ended at 133/9, with only 23 runs coming in the last five overs. For the home side, Holder finished with impressive figures of 4/19 in four overs while Motie ended with 2/39.

In reply, the home side’s pursuit of the target also started on the wrong foot, with left-arm spinner Mohammad Nawaz dismissing opener Alick Athanaze in the second over. After a 13-run over from pacer Hasan Ali, Nawaz returned to dismiss Jewel Andrew in his next as the Windies ended the powerplay at 34/2. Similar to the previous match, skipper Salman tried to tighten the strings further, opting for spin from both ends after the six-over mark. Saim Ayub trapped the dangerous-looking Sherfane Rutherford in front of the wicket as the hosts managed just 18 runs in the next four overs. The spinners continued till the 15th over with Nawaz scalping skipper Shai Hope to end his four-over spell with excellent figures of 3/14. Ayub was also bowled out during this period as he finished with 2/20, and the Windies needed 55 runs from the final five with five wickets in hand. Motie shifted the momentum towards the batting side, smashing two sixes in a 16-run over off Hasan Ali, before being run out in the next over. The left-handed batter’s knock of 28 from 20 balls included two sixes and a four. The game was back in the balance again with left-arm wrist spinner Sufiyan Muqeem dismissing Keacy Carty in the same over. However, Holder and Shepherd raked in 28 runs, hitting two sixes and two fours in the next two overs from Shaheen Shah Afridi and Ali to bring the equation down to eight runs in the last over. Afridi kept the visitors in the game, giving away just four runs, including the wicket of Shepherd, in the first five balls. With three runs needed off the last ball, the left-arm pacer aimed for the stumps with a fuller-length delivery, but Holder shuffled across to send the ball to the fine leg fence. The former Windies captain remained unbeaten on 16 off 10 balls, triggering wild celebrations after his heroic act.