In a game which wasn’t as close as the final scorecard would suggest, Pakistan’s spinners were the difference between the two sides as they derailed the West Indies chase of 179 in the middle overs to ease to a 14-run victory in the first T20I in Lauderhill.

That target was put up thanks to a brisk half-century from Saim Ayub up top and contributions through the order. West Indies’ bowling had the discipline to never truly let the batters cut loose on a surface that rewarded pace off the ball, but the flow of runs remained steady, if not explosive. Pakistan backloading some of their power hitters would come in handy when  Jason Holder trapped Ayub in front for 57; cameos from Hasan Nawaz and Faheem Ashraf, as well as a six off the only ball Mohammad Haris faced helped Pakistan fetch 58 off their last 31 balls.

West Indies knew it was chaseable and batted like it up front. But there was an uneasy fragility to that line-up in the face of a multitude of Pakistan spinners, as well as a standout bowling performance from Shaheen Shah Afridi, the standout Pakistan seamer on the day. It left the hosts with too few overs to target as the asking rate climbed, and too few wickets to play with as  Mohammad Nawaz, Sufiyan Muqeem and Ayub wreaked havoc.

Holder reminded his side how easy big hitting can sometimes be with a blistering late attack as he helped himself to an unbeaten 30 off 12 with four sixes. It ensured West Indies finished strongly with 38 runs in the final two overs, but of all the things it threatened to do, changing the outcome at that stage wasn’t one of them.

Asked to bat first, each of Pakistan’s top-order batters chipped in, but the runs never came at the dynamic strike rate Pakistan have repeatedly promised they would. Sahibzada Farhan was trapped in front early by Shamar Joseph, who would also account for Fakhar Zaman after a stodgy 24-ball 28. Five of the top six saw their innings conclude with strike rates between 110 and 133.33. And this would have been a problem, but for Ayub.

For the first 25 balls of his innings, he found himself ambling along at the same pace as his team-mates. However, Ayub burst into life with a boundary off the final ball of the ninth over, and for a tiny, match-turning window, the fog lifted for him. Romario Shepherd was smashed for four in the following over, before two sixes in a 20-run Jediah Blades over flew Ayub past 50. His last 28 runs came in 13 balls, and by this time, Pakistan’s run rate was well above nine.

That, when thrown the ball for a couple of overs, picking up a wicket in each was merely the icing on the cake.

For all of Pakistan’s late surge, a chase of 179 wasn’t near insurmountable, and West Indies would set about demonstrating that in a mature powerplay that balanced intent with calculated risk-taking. The hosts showed deference to Afridi, content to see off his two powerplay overs for five runs, but pounced on the others. Pakistan tried to sneak in a cheeky second over of the innings from Nawaz, only to watch it go for 11, while Johnson Charles took another ten off Haris Rauf’s first.

But even without wickets falling, Pakistan began to rein West Indies in. Before the powerplay had ended, Rauf sneaked in an over for just seven, and as the field spread out, West Indies’ scoring ability nosedived in the face of some superbly accurate lines from Nawaz and Muqeem. The eight overs following the end of the powerplay produced just 37 runs and yielded four wickets, gutting West Indies before the final launch.

Things got better for Pakistan when Charles top-edged the very next ball to the wicketkeeper, before West Indies slid further into the mire as Gudakesh Motie biffed one to deep midwicket. Nawaz, once famously termed a “match-winner” by Babar Azam, had indeed lived up to Babar’s estimation on this occasion.

Brief scores:
Pakistan 178 for 6 in 20 overs (Sahibzada Farhan 14, Saim Ayub 57, Fakhar Zaman 28, Hasan Nawaz 24, Salman Agha 11, Faheem Ashraf 15;  Jason Holder 1-35, Akeal Hossein 1-31, Shamar Joseph 3-30, Romario Shepherd 1-29) beat West Indies 164 for 7 in 20 overs ( Jewel Andrew 35, Johnson Charles 35, Sherfane Rutherford 11, Romario Shepherd 12, Jason Holder 30*, Shamar Joseph 21*; Shaheen Shah Afridi 1-27, Mohammad Nawaz 3-23, Sufiyan Muqeem 1-20, Saim Ayub 2-20) by 14 runs

[Cricinfo]