West Indies lost a Twenty20 International series for the first time since they became World Champions of the format, after Pakistan batted and bowled steadily to clinch a 11-run victory on Sunday in St Vincent.
Dwayne Bravo led the way with 35, Sunil Narine scored 28 and Kieron Pollard made 23, but the Windies unsuccessfully chased an average target of 136 in the second T20 at the Arnos Vale Multiplex.
The batting of the Caribbean side again failed to ignite, as the Pakistani bowlers –led by Sohail Tanvir, Saeed Ajmal and Zulfiqar Babar with two wickets apiece – kept them in shackles.
The victory meant Pakistan swept the two-match series 2-0, following their two-wicket victory on Saturday here which ended West Indies’ nine-match unbeaten run since they won the World T20 last September against hosts Sri Lanka.
Sunil Narine had taken three for 26 from four overs and fellow spinner Samuel Badree captured two for 16 from the same number of overs, as Pakistan, choosing to bat, posted 135 for seven off 20 overs on a slow pitch.
The Windies’ grip on the match was loosened by 46 not out from wicketkeeper/batsman Umar Akmal, the Man-of-the-Match, and opener Ahmed Shehzad with 44.
The home team went into an early wobble, when openers Johnson Charles and Chris Gayle fell cheaply, and were soon followed by in-form batsmen Marlon Samuels and Lendl Simmons, leaving West Indies rocking on 17 for four in the eighth over.
Compatriots Bravo, Narine, promoted to bat at six and Pollard played their strokes and combined to give West Indies a chance of a strong finish.
Narine was caught at long-on off Ajmal in the 14th over, but the dismissals of Pollard and Bravo from successive deliveries in the 17th over, bowled by left-arm spinner Zulfiqar, left the remainder of the Windies batting to get 42 from the last 18 balls and they failed.
Earlier, West Indies gradually got back into the game, after Shehzad hit the second ball for a boundary before he lost his captain and fellow opener Mohammad Hafeez for 10, caught at short third man from a top-edged cut off Badree in the fourth over.
The Windies further applied the brakes, when their captain Darren Sammy held a sharp return catch to remove Umar Amin for seven and Badree took a running,
return catch to dismiss Haris Sohail for one, leaving Pakistan 42 for three after eight overs.
The hosts met resistance, when Akmal came to the crease and put on a valuable 36 for the fourth wicket stand with Shehzad, who was caught at deep mid-wicket off Pollard in the 13th over.
West Indies continued to take wickets, as there was little stability from the rest of the Pakistan batting and the visitors lost four wickets for 31 in the space of 31 balls in the second half of their innings, despite Akmal’s resilience.
