Rizwan and Babar star in Pakistan's record chase

 Rizwan and Babar star in Pakistan's record chase

Mohammad Rizwan's fantastic spat T20s this year went on while Babar Azam likewise got back to shape as the Pakistan openers featured in a seven wicket triumph to seal a 3-0 completion to the T20I series against West Indies. After the visitors decided to bat, Nicholas Pooran (64 off 37), Shamarh Brooks (49 off 31), and Brandon King (43 off 21) led West Indies to a score of 207/3. However, Pakistan's 158-run opening stand between Rizwan (86 off 45) and Babar (79 off 53) was insufficient to achieve their highest T20I chase total and secure Pakistan's victory with seven deliveries remaining. With the ODI portion of the tour postponed until June 2022, West Indies will return home without a victory due to multiple cases of Covid-19 in their camp.

Rizwan and Babar drive Pakistan's chase. When Rizwan missed a sweep, debutant Gudakesh Motie almost lost the first ball. However, replays showed that the ball was going above the stumps, so the wicketkeeper-batsman used a review to overturn the on-field decision in favor of the bowler. But Rizwan quickly forgot about that as he used regular boundaries to drive Pakistan's chase. Babar, who was having a rough time, hit the first four of the innings in the second over, which was bowled by Romario Shepherd. This over resulted in 17 runs, and Rizwan also hit fours and sixes. Motie was hit by Rizwan for a four and a six in his first over, and both of the first-innings batsmen scored four runs off Dominic Drakes. When Babar swept and threw out Motie for two fours, he reached 20 for the first time in six innings. Pakistan won the powerplay with 60 runs on the board and all of their wickets intact, despite only scoring six runs off Drakes in the sixth over.

Before Babar hit his fifth four off an Odean Smith low full toss, Pakistan went 18 deliveries without a boundary. Hayden Walsh, who almost had Babar run out, didn't have a decent beginning with the ball as he was on the more limited side and both Rizwan and Babar took cost of it by scoring limits. The West Indies bowlers lacked consistency in terms of line and lengths, so Rizwan got a six from Smith and Babar got a four from a short delivery. Pakistan reached 98 for no loss after 10 overs thanks to Rizwan's fifty off 26 deliveries.

Records galore as Pakistan seeks victory Rizwan became the first batter to score 2000 T20 runs this year with an inside edge off Oshane Thomas for a four. Rizwan and Babar also scored a century together, their fifth for the first wicket and sixth in T20Is, to lead both partnership charts. Babar hit his 25th T20I fifty in 40 balls, scoring a six, two fours, and a six off Thomas in succession. In the 15th over, which was bowled by Walsh, he hit his second six by clearing the long-off fence. As the openers reduced the total to 50 off the last five overs, as many as 18 came in the over. In the meantime, it was Babar and Rizwan's fourth 150-plus partnership, two more than the second-best pairing of Shikhar Dhawan and Rohit Sharma.

Babar was bowled by Smith with a change of pace in the 16th over, ending the partnership when the Pakistan captain returned after scoring nine fours and two sixes. However, Fakhar Zaman and Rizwan maintained the boundaries to maintain Pakistan's momentum. With a low full toss, Drakes beat Rizwan, ending an excellent innings in which the keeper-bat hit 10 fours and three sixes. After watching Fakhar fall at the other end, Asif Ali finished it off with an unbeaten 21 off 7 in the penultimate over after scoring a four and a six in his first three deliveries.

King and Brooks help West Indies get off to a good start. In the first over, King almost cleared the infield to score a boundary off Mohammad Nawaz. However, he enjoyed the spinner bowling in the powerplay and was in complete control of his shotmaking otherwise. King also scored his first six runs in addition to two fours, and Brooks also hit his first boundary in the first over. Nawaz went for 18 in the next over. Mohammad Hasnain and Shahnawaz Dahani, in place of Shaheen Afridi and Haris Rauf, were included in Pakistan's XI. However, Hasnain didn't have the best start, going for 19 in his first two overs and allowing King to score three fours off him. Mohammad Wasim Jr. bowled Brooks his first six with a flick over backward square leg, and the bowler also saw King enter the 40s with a shot to the roof. King had helped West Indies get off to a good start, but he was bowled off the last ball of the sixth over. His seven fours and two sixes helped his team finish the powerplay at 66/1.

After King left, Brooks decided to be the aggressor and swept Nawaz for a four. The bowler didn't have any luck going his way, as Hasnain and Iftikhar Ahmed didn't talk to each other in the deep, giving the opener a chance when he was on 27. Brooks made Pakistan pay for their error by hitting three sixes off Shadab Khan in the very next over. West Indies were well-positioned to post a commanding total, having reached 99/2 at the halfway point of their innings, but Brooks' stay was ultimately ended by Dahani when the batter pulled one straight to deep midwicket to fall one short of fifty.

Despite the early dismissals of Pakistan's openers, skipper Nicholas Pooran kept the six-hitting frenzy going with his sizzling performance. Before hitting a full toss off Wasim over the deep midwicket fence, Iftikhar hit two sixes off of him in the far off area. Pooran, who shared a half-century with Darren Bravo for the third wicket, also hit Hasnain for a six. However, Bravo was not at his fluent best in his first T20I since July, when he was called up to the eleven after recovering from illness. Prior to Bravo's first four off Shadab, the 15th delivery he faced, he had scored at less than a run per ball. He also scored a four against Hasnain, who went 17 for 17 in his final over and finished with figures of 0 for 49. Pooran also scored a four and a six in the same over.

Pooran was also having a costly game, scoring a boundary past third man and a free-hit for a maximum over long-off. However, when Pooran top-edged a slog, the bowler got his second wicket, so at least he was among the wickets. Dahani, on the other hand, was the most economical Pakistani bowler, hitting his yorkers precisely and going 1 for 23 off his four overs. Even though Wasim gave away 44 runs in total, he was able to somewhat redeem himself by giving away only five runs in the final over. West Indies finished their innings without a boundary off the 16 balls they played, which was crucial to the game's outcome.