Pakistan thrashed West Indies by 53 runs in the third and final ODI of the series to inflict a whitewash on Sunday. Pakistan managed to remain unbeaten in the home series against the Caribbean side.
It’s a rarity to see a wicketkeeper showing off his bowling skills and ending up hauling four wickets in an international cricket match.
But West Indies wicketkeeper-batter Nicholas Pooran did exactly that during the third ODI against Pakistan on Sunday.
“Happy to be able to contribute with the ball as well,” Pooran added.
After an excellent 85-run stand for the first wicket between Fakhar Zaman (35 off 48) and Imam-ul-Haq (62 off 68), which also saw the latter smashing his 7th consecutive half-century in ODIs, it was Pooran who drew first Wicket by getting rid of the dangerous Fakhar during the 17th Over.
After scalping his first-ever wicket in the format, the 26-year-old then struck twice in his 6th Over, to remove the in-form Imam and a delivery later, Mohammad Haris at the score of naught.
Finally, in his next Over, he also got rid of Pakistan’s star wicket-keeper batter Mohammad Rizwan (11 off 21) to pick his maiden four-wicket haul in ODIs.
Meanwhlie, Former West Indian legendary pacer Ian Bishop took to his social media handle to hilariously compare Pooran to the legendary Sri Lankan off-spinner Muttiah Muralitharan, after getting seemingly impressed with his off-spin bowling, and returning with his career best figures in the 50-Over format.
After Pakistan clean swept the series in Multan on Sunday. West Indies limited-overs captain Nicholas Pooran said that he is proud of his team “for sticking together through difficult periods” after losing the three-match ODI series against Pakistan.
“WI didn’t get the results we wanted, but I am so proud of this team for sticking together through difficult periods and putting everything on the line for the people of the West Indies. I feel like we are growing closer by the day and that is the most important thing as WI build this unit! Thanks for having us Pakistan,” Pooran said in an Instagram post.
Coming back to the match, batting first, the hosts had posted a total of 269/9 in 48 overs ((D/L method).
Shadab Khan (86 off 78 balls) emerged as Pakistan’s highest scorer in the match.
However, the tourists were bundled out for 216 runs in their chase. With this 53-run victory in the final ODI, Pakistan also managed to secure a 3-0 clean sweep of the three-match series.