West Indies mauled in Karachi

It is often said that winning can become a habit, but what the 'Windies' have shown is that they have demonstrated an incredible habit of producing dismal performances that lack inspiration and expression of talent. 

It was envisioned that after the 2016 ICC T20 World Cup a new and reborn image of the West Indies was going to be a result of their incredible victory in the final against England. In fact, what has been seen since the latest T20 World Cup is that the Windies have only been able to cap off a dim 7 victories out of 20 encounters on the international stage. With a 35% winning percentage, it is fair to say that they are not really playing up to the so-called 'World Champions' standard. 

But on a more brighter outlook of cricket, it has been a blessing to cricket lovers that international cricket returned to Karachi after 9 years of silence. Moreover, this series marks the first full international series being hosted in Pakistan and visited by a fully fledged test nation. Furthermore, despite the thrashing that the tourists received, they should be applauded and praised for their commitment to tour the nation and be an example to the so-called 'bigger nations' to hopefully trust in cricket returning to Pakistan. 

It is not the first time that the spotlight has been on Karachi in recent times as the latest edition of the Pakistan Super League which was again an outstanding success. Whilst I think that the quality of batting may have lacked in some instances, it was the display of fielding which I believe has never been at a higher quality for Pakistan. Moreover, the talent that was found out of PSL III has gone through the international ranks and now being displayed on the world stage and it is certainly raising a lot of eyebrows. The likes of Hussain Talat, Asif Ali and Shaheen Afridi making their international debuts. And it is fair to say that they did not disappoint.

What has been the most incredible and inspiring transition of Pakistan cricket is the management of the PCB. What this series saw was players being picked based on their form and not reputation, which to be fair is a rarity when it comes to Pakistan cricket. But what I have noticed throughout this series is the outstanding quality of Pakistan's benched players and the extreme calibre they possess both in the batting and bowling departments. 

Not only is Pakistan winning games of cricket, but they are smashing records as they continue to dominate the shortest format of the game. And looking at the recent statistics since the last T20 World Cup, there is no doubt as to who are the real T20 champions. With now 4 consecutive first innings scores in excess of 180 runs now is a record that belongs to Pakistan in which they would hope to continue. Furthermore, Pakistan has now recorded 7 consecutive T20 series win including 17 individual victories out of 20 games. With an 85% winning rate, it only resembles the quality of cricket that Pakistan has been playing in recent times. 

It is fair to say that the Windies failed to compete against a very confident Pakistan side which can be said possesses one of the finest and most versatile bowling attacks currently in world cricket. With packed stadiums, the first T20 of the series saw Pakistan register their biggest win and the second largest victory (in runs) in T20 history. After the hosts posted a mammoth 5/203 with debutant Hussain Talat announcing himself on the world stage with a classy 41, claiming 1/3 and 3 catches in an outstanding display of all-around cricket and a man-of-the-match effort. However, the beating was not complete as the tourists posted their lowest T20 total with Pakistan bowling the Windies out for 60 runs to register a 143 run victory. 

The quality of side is determined by the way they compete against an opposition, but the quality of a game is determined by the closeness of the competition between the two competing teams. And unfortunately, the quality of games was not at a high level despite the immense quality that Pakistan showed. With the second fixture seeing the hosts post their highest T20 total of 3/205 with the likes of limited overs star Babar Azam posting a glorious 97 not out and classy innings of 63 from Hussain Talat to completely take the game out of the tourists' hands. With another poor effort from the tourists, Pakistan's bowlers were all over the opposition as the Windies again lost by 82 runs.

With the series done and dusted, the final game came with a new look bowling attack from Pakistan which included the likes of 17-year-old Shaheen Afridi who certainly impressed on the largest stage despite not claiming any wickets. Whilst not having a great reputation for chasing, Pakistan was all class as they easily chased down a somewhat imposing target of 153 with 8 wickets left to spare. 

I strongly believe that the key to Pakistan's success is the depth of their batting despite their bowling being world-renowned. What the first 2 fixtures saw was a Pakistan batting lineup that saw the last established batsmen stretching to the number 9 position, with big hitter  Hasan Ali and capable batsman Mohammad Amir rearing up the attack at number 10 and 11 respectively. It is their all-around talent and calibre that is the key to their success as their variety of bowling and their depth in batting along with some recent brilliance in the field is what is contributing to their record successes. 

Furthermore, the series has recently seen Pakistan soar even higher in their number 1 rankings in the T20 formats with Babar Azam reaching the summit of T20 batsmen and 19-year-old Shadab Khan runner-up to the number 1 bowling rankings. With now 20 T20 international matches to his name, his extraordinary batting average of 53 is something to be admired and announced onto the world stage as he has earned the crown of T20 cricket. 

Overall, it has been an extraordinary series to witness as Pakistan have completely destroyed their opposition in all departments. Usually, I tend to make a series XI, however, with no performances to report from the West Indies side, it all but seems that the whole team is just team Pakistan. And finally, plenty of credit has to go the West Indies team for touring Pakistan and also to Pakistan captain Sarfaraz Ahmed who has led the side immensely well since taking over the reigns.