Sahibzada Farhan and Saim Ayub combined for a 138 opening partnership and Pakistan defeated the West Indies by 13 runs on Sunday to capture their T20 International Series.
Pakistan won the series opener by 14 runs but dropped the second match by two wickets to set up a Sunday night decider at Lauderhill, Florida.
After winning the toss and choosing to bat first, Pakistan were rewarded with a powerhouse performance by Farhan and Ayub.
Pakistan went 189 for four as Farhan hammered the hosts for 74 runs on 53 balls, smashing five sixes and three fours, while Ayub lasted 19 overs, finishing on 66 from 49 balls with two sixes and four fours.
Farhan was caught by West Indies captain Shai Hope at long off from a delivery by Shamar Joseph on the second ball of the 17th over.
Hasan Nawaz entered but was retired after only 15 runs, caught by Romario Shepherd at long off from a delivery by Roston Chase on the penultimate ball of the 18th over.
Mohammad Haris was run out for only two runs by Gudakesh Motie to start the 19th over and Ayub finally exited on the last ball of the penultimate over,
Jason Holder’s delivery grabbed by Sherfane Rutherford at sweeper cover.
Set 190 to win, West Indies struck for 30 runs on the first 10 balls from Hasan Ali and Mohammad Nawaz.
Jewel Andrew was caught by Hasan Ali at long on, bowled by Haris Rauf for 24, the first West Indies wicket falling at 44.
Ayub caught Hope bowled out by Nawaz for seven in the ninth over with the hosts still 116 runs from victory.
Alick Athanaze lasted 13 overs before being taken for 60, caught by Khushdil Shah bowled by Ayub with West Indies on 110, needing 80 runs off the last 42 deliveries.
Chase was retired on the last ball of the 17th over and his replacement, last-ball hero Holder from the win a night earlier, was bowled out by Sufiyan Muqeem two balls later for a duck, leaving the hosts 41 runs shy with 16 balls remaining.
Rutherford smashed a six to reach a half-century with seven balls remaining before exiting on 51 as West Indies couldn’t pull off another last-over comeback.
President Asif Ali Zardari congratulated the cricket team on its win, praising players’ determination and teamwork.
“Pakistani players won hearts by playing their best game,” he said in a statement. “Hopefully, the national team will continue to achieve successes in the future.”
While congratulating the players, Prime Minister also praised PCB Chairman Mohsin Naqvi and the team management on the victory.
In a post on X, he “expressed the hope that team would prepare for the upcoming matches with even greater hard work and dedication to continue this streak of success”.
