KINGSTOWN, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines: Pakistan held off a desperate late surge by the West Indies to take the second and final Twenty20 international by 11 runs at the Arnos Vale Stadium in St Vincent late on Sunday.
In restricting the hosts to 124 for nine in reply to their total of 135 for seven, the tourists took the series 2-0 and moved up to second in the international rankings behind Sri Lanka.
West Indies dropped to fourth in what was yet another setback following hard on the heels of the 3-1 loss to the Pakistanis in the preceding one-day international series.
“It was a tough tour and credit must be given to everyone associated with the squad for the success that we have enjoyed here,” said a delighted Pakistan captain Mohammad Hafeez, who also played a key role with the ball in dismissing the dangerous but out-of-form Chris Gayle cheaply for the second time in two days.
“When we saw the pitch, we knew, with our four spinners, that any total of 135-140 would have given us a chance, and so it worked out.”
An unbeaten 46 by man of the match Umar Akmal and 44 from opening batsman Ahmed Shehzad paced Pakistan to a total that was always going to be challenging on a slow, turning surface ideally suited to the sub-continental team.
Spinners Sunil Narine and Samuel Badree shared five wickets for the West Indies.
After looking dead and buried at 17 for four though, the Caribbean side fought back through the middle of their innings thanks to a battling top score of 35 from Dwayne Bravo and an aggressive 28 from Sunil Narine. AFP
