Twenty20: Pakistan bring West Indies crashing down to earth

Dubai - West Indies, the world champions no less, were brought crashing down to earth at the ‘Ring of Fire,’ as Pakistan won the first of the back-to-back fixtures by 9 wickets.

West Indies captain Carlos Brathwaite had spoken on the eve of the T20 series against Pakistan that with two unpredictable teams in the park, he expected three unpredictable games. He also had added that Pakistan could blow any team away on their day.
His words proved to come true as it was that unpredictability factor which came to the fore on Friday night.
Pakistan brought their A game on the night to blow the West Indies away in the first T20 International at a packed Dubai International Cricket Stadium.
West Indies, the world champions no less, were brought crashing down to earth at the ‘Ring of Fire,’ as Pakistan won the first of the back-to-back fixtures by 9 wickets.
It was also back-to-back nine-wicket wins after they had beaten England by the same margin in the one-off T20 at Old Trafford, Sarfraz Ahmed’s first game as captain.
West Indies stuttered to 115 and Pakistan knocked them off with 34 balls to spare with Babar Azam scoring his first half-century in T20 Internationals. He scored an unbeaten 55 from 37 balls with six boundaries and two sixes, while opener Khalid Latif made an unbeaten 34.
But the man who scripted this story was all-rounder Imad Wasim, who returned with a fifer, to become the first Pakistan spinner to take a five-wicket haul in T20 Internationals and the second Pakistani to do so after Umar Gul.
His 5-14 was his career-best figures in T20 Internationals after he had taken four for 11 against Zimbabwe in Harare last year. Wasim also has a 5-14 in ODIs against Ireland in Dublin, Malahide last month.  
Asked to open the bowling by new captain Sarfraz Ahmed, Wasim responded by snapping up Evin Lewis off the fifth ball of the match, with his left-arm spin, before returning in his next over to castle Andre Fletcher and have Marlon Samuels leg before, to bend the West Indies’ back.
The world champions certainly didn’t look like one as left-arm spin caused more than enough problems. Mohammad Nawaz, who came into the attack, disturbed opener Johnson Charles’ furniture as the West Indies spluttered to 17 for 4.
The young and exciting Nicholas Pooran, who had an impressive Caribbean Premier League with the Barbados Tridents, was handed an international debut on the back of those performances as well as a good showing in the warm-up game against the ECB XI.
But his debut was nothing much to write home about with the southpaw edging Hasan Ali to wicketkeeper Sarfraz Ahmed after he had scored a boundary.
Half the West Indies side was gone with just 22 on the board and Sarfraz decided to go for the kill by bringing Wasim back into the attack. And the 27-year-old answered his captain’s call again by removing Kieron Pollard and and captain Brathwaite.
And, with Sunil Narine gone, it left West Indies at 48 for 8, and in danger of making it into the list of lowest totals in T20 Internationals.
But Dwayne Bravo and Jerome Taylor embarked on a damage limitation exercise by putting on 66 for the ninth wicket to lend some respectability to the total.
Bravo went on to score his fourth half-century in T20 Internationals with a 54-ball 55 with four boundaries and two sixes. It also helped the West Indies nudge their way past the 100-mark. Though they eventually finished up at 115, it proved to be too little for Pakistan to chase down.
The second T20 takes place at the same venue on Saturday night.
james@khaleejtimes.com