Shadab shines after the collapse as Pakistan set Windies a 270-run target

MULTAN: Pakistan’s vice-captain Shadab Khan defended his side and played an 86-run anchor stroke to bolster his side to a commendable total of 269/9 in the allotted 48 overs after the first southpaw provided by Imam-ul- Haq. off to a good start with his seventh consecutive half-century.

Pakistan, after opting to bat first in the third ODI, got off to a decent start as the opening pair of Imam and Fakhar Zaman put together a brilliant 85-run partnership for the first wicket.

However, Fakhar, who was struggling to get going, fell at 17th when halftime Nicholas Pooran castled him for 35th.

Pakistan captain Babar Azam, who is in sublime form in the ODIs, had a rare miss when he dropped back after managing to score just one run when Hayden Walsh caught the right-hander in his legs.

Imam then made a brief 25-run partnership with batsman Mohammad Rizwan, as the former went down briefly after reaching his seventh consecutive ODI fifty.

Imam scored 62 of 68 balls with the help of seven limits and a six.

After his departure, the home team began losing wickets at an alarming rate and fell to 117/5 in the 25th.

Pakistan vice-captain Shadab and left-handed all-rounder Khushdil Shah anchored the inning with a gutsy 84-run partnership for the sixth wicket before the latter lost his wicket after scoring 34.

After his departure, Shadab continued his valiant strike and single-handedly kept the scoreboard going as the crowd walked back to the pavilion with small contributions.

The right-handed all-rounder scored for the team with a brilliant 86 on just 78 balls, linked with four bounds and three sixes before Jayden Seals castled him in the final.

For the West Indies, Pooran led the way with four wickets while Keemo Paul bagged two. Akeal Hosein, Walsh and Seales each made one scalp.