PAKISTAN took the series lead after they defeated West Indies by seven runs in the second Twenty20 International at the Guyana National Stadium, Providence, yesterday.
In pursuit of 158, West Indies reached 150-4, and soaked up 50 dot balls in the process, while Pakistan had just 36 in their 157-8.

The issue of dot balls was prevalent for West Indies during their previous series against South Africa and Australia, but they seem not to have found a way to combat the problem which is costing them in close encounters.

Captain Kieron Pollard speaking at the post match presser indicated they are still learning but they are making strides, and he hailed the effort of Shimron Hetmyer and Evin Lewis who attempted to do such along with top-scorer Nicholas Pooran.

“We could have gotten a couple more singles, and boundaries but having said that the guys really fought through and we talk about finding a way and fighting and in the middle period I thought that was impressive.”

Pollard added, “I think it is a learning curve for us; we came out on the losing end on this time but there are some things we see we can continue to work with.”
With the ball in hand, West Indies continue to show consistency which elated the skipper, as they managed to pull back Pakistan from 85-1 in the tenth over.

“I just thought the way the guys came back in the back ten (overs); obviously we stared down the barrel of a 170-180 and on a track like this that would have definitely been too much. The way the guys bounced back showed that we continue to be consistent in that part of the game.”

The skipper who opted to field first said the pitch didn’t change much but rather “dried out” and the Pakistanis used the angles and bowled straight lines.
The third T20 match is today at Guyana National Stadium, Providence from 11:00hrs.