Florida [US], August 4 : West Indies skipper Shai Hope praised his bowlers for their effort that they put in for the entire T20 series against Pakistan. Hope emphasised the need for consistent execution with the ball, while acknowledging the team's progress.
Fifties from Sahibzada Farhan and Saim Ayub helped Pakistan to win the third and final T20 against West Indies by 13 runs to clinch the three-match series 2-1 at Florida, on Monday.
"Firstly, I must commend the bowlers for the effort they put in for the entire series. It was a little more conducive for strokeplay today. Still felt 190 would have been enough for us to chase. We speak about execution with the ball a lot, we've seen progression, we just need to be a little more consistent," Shai Hope said.
Hope also believed West Indies batters have to deal with middle overs better and usual power-hitting at the back end. He also felt that consistency is key to being the best team in the world.
"With the batting, we need to deal with those middle overs better and our usual power-hitting at the back end, just try to have that complete cricket game, three areas, something that we need to look at. We spoke about intent (with the bat) yesterday. Alick came out and showed his class, same with Jewel in his first series. They showed they're very capable playing at this level. Consistency is key if you want to be the best team in the world, something which we haven't done. Always tough (captaincy), the games come quickly and fast, there's not much time to talk and discuss things. You got to find ways to get better," he added.
Coming to the match, Pakistan skipper Salman Agha won the toss and opted to bat. Pakistan's opening pair of Saim Ayub and Sahibzada Farhan gave Pakistan a flying start, adding 47 runs without any loss in the powerplay.
They continued to build on the momentum and extended Pakistan's dominance by taking the team's total to 82 without loss at mid-way through the innings as Farhan completed his third T20I half-century.
Ayub joined his partner and completed his second T20I fifty, bringing up the 100-run opening stand for Pakistan. The duo added 138 runs for the opening wicket before Shamar Joseph removed Farhan for 74 in the 17th over.
Hasan Nawaz played a couple of big shots before losing his wicket to Roston Chase, followed by Haris getting himself run out as West Indies made a comeback in the match. Khushdil Shah and Faheem Ashraf slammed 19 runs in the final over as Pakistan finished their innings at 189/4.
In reply, while chasing 190 runs, West Indies openers Alick Athanaze and Jerlani Andrew also gave their team a flying start, adding 44 runs for the opening wicket before Haris Rauf dismissed Andrew for 24 in the 5th over. Skipper Shai Hope's run drought with the bat continued as he was dismissed for seven by Mohammad Nawaz in the 9th over.
Athanaze brought up his maiden T20I fifty in the 11th over, he added 10 more runs to his total before Ayub removed him for 60 in the following over. Roston Chase made 15 but failed to get going and retired with 41 runs left to win in 18 balls for West Indies.
Sherfane Rutherford made a vital fifty off 35 runs and tried to get his side over the line, but the home side eventually fell 13 runs short of the target.
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