Pakistan 8-158 (Umar Amin 47, Shahid Afridi 46, Shannon Gabriel 3-44) beat West Indies 7-152 (Kieron Pollard 49*, Darren Sammy 30, Zulfiqar Babar 3-23, Mohammad Hafeez 2-4) by two wickets.
The enterprising all rounder, Shahid Afridi, snatched the victory from West Indies with his powerful batting with the support of Umar Amin and Zulfiqar Babar.
The Caribbeans scored 152 runs for the loss of seven wickets in the allocated 20 overs and the Green Shirts piled up 158 with two wickets still in hand.
Shahid Afridi (Pakistan) was declared ‘Player of the match’ for his blistering knock of 46 from 27 balls.
The first Twenty20 of the two match series was played on Saturday, July 27, 2013, at Arnos Vale Ground, Kingstown, St Vincent.
Earlier, Darren Sammy, the captain of the Windies, won the toss and sent his batsmen in first. The decision bounced back when the Green Shirts skipper, Mohammad Hafeez, removed both openers, Johnson Charles and Chris Gayle, for 1 and 5 runs. Marlon Samuels and Lendl Simmons tried to control the proceedings as the first punished Mohammad Irfan for 1 six and 2 fours in the fourth over. Mohammad Hafeez handed over the ball to the 34-year-old debutant left arm spinner, Zulfiqar Babar, in the next over who clean bowled Simmons on the fourth ball for six runs. He caught and bowled Marlon Samuels for 25 in his next over as the score reached 42 after 6.2 overs.
Dwayne Bravo and Kieron Pollard joined together in the park as the latter hit his first six in the 10th over. They kept the score board moving with regular boundaries and attained the fifty of the partnership in the 15th over. Zulfiqar Babar got his third victim when Dwayne Bravo was smartly caught by Saeed Ajmal for 25 off 35 deliveries with 2 fours. Darren Sammy changed the complexion of the game, slaughtering the rival bowlers, by scoring 30 runs off 14 mere balls with 3 towering sixes and 2 fours. Kieron Pollard remained unbeaten for 49 off 36 with 2 lofty sixes and 4 fours as the Caribbeans hammered 7-152 in 20 overs.
Zulfiqar Babar was the supreme bowler with three wickets, Mohammad Hafeez held two whereas Mohammad Irfan got one wicket.
Pakistan had an identical beginning to the one of the home side as they lost their both openers at just 10 runs in 1.4 overs. Mohammad Hafeez and another debutant for the visitors, Umar Amin, assembled at the wicket in a difficult situation. The latter hit 3 fours in the third over and Mohammad Hafeez followed with two boundaries in the fifth one before he was caught by Shannon Gabriel at short third man off Sunil Narine for 13. Umar Akmal walked in next as Umar Amin continued with his assault by dispatching 4 fours in the sixth over. Umar Akmal ran himself out for 9 while attempting an unnecessary run and Umar Amin became the fifth victim for 47 off just 33 deliveries with 9 fours.
The tourists were struggling at 5-86 in 11.1 overs as Shahid Afridi got together with Hammad Azam. The first started off by accumulating 12 runs in the same over with 1 six and 1 four and kept the score board running. The score was enhanced to 116 when Hammad Azam was caught superbly by Pollard off Gabriel for 10. Shahid Afridi smashed his 400th international six in the 16th over off Sunil Narine and created a unique world record. The great all rounder was finally caught by Dwayne Bravo off Gabriel for 46 from 27 mere balls with 2 big sixes and 4 fours. Pakistan required 6 runs from the last over when Zulfiqar Babar hit a four on the first ball followed by a spicy six over long-on as the tourists powered 8-158.
Shannon Gabriel was the top wicket taker with three whereas Samuel Badree, Sunil Narine and Marlon Samuels shared one wicket each.
Pakistan won the thrilling first Twenty with a margin of two wickets and leads the series 1-0. The second and final game will be played at the same venue on Sunday, July 28, 2013.
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