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Jason Holder's Heroic Grit Purges West Indies' Woes In Pressure Cooker 2nd T20I Vs Pakistan

Soumyajit Dutta

Jason Holder heroics seal West Indies win after consecutive failures [Source: AFP Photos]Jason Holder heroics seal West Indies win after consecutive failures [Source: AFP Photos]

It seems like the West Indies' batting woes are never gonna end. The collapse that started from the Australia series is continuing still now, and the once shining Caribbean firepower now meekly burns in front of quality bowling attacks. 

However, against Pakistan in the 2nd T20I, the misery for the West Indies seemed to have been purged by Jason Holder and Romario Shepherd. An absolute thriller of a match took place at Lauderhill, and the tail-enders of the Red Giants took the game down to the wire after a top-order collapse.

West Indies Hole Out Pakistan Early

Batting first, Pakistan had a shaky start as Jason Holder ripped through their top order. He dismissed Saim Ayub (7), Sahibzada Farhan (3), and Mohammad Nawaz (2) to return with remarkable figures of 4/19. Pakistan looked in trouble at 53/4, but a quickfire 40 off 23 balls from Hasan Nawaz, along with a steady 38 from captain Agha Salman, lifted them to 133/9 by the end of their 20 overs.

Windies Chase Starts With A Crumble

West Indies’ chase began shakily. Mohammad Nawaz struck early, removing Alick Athanaze, Jewel Andrew, and captain Shai Hope in a terrific spell of left-arm spin. Nawaz’s 3/14 in four overs left the Caribbean side in disarray. 

Saim Ayub, who had failed with the bat, turned the game in Pakistan’s favour again with the ball, dismissing Sherfane Rutherford and Roston Chase during a critical middle-overs phase.

With the scoreboard reading 98/7 in the 17th over, West Indies looked down and out. But Gudakesh Motie’s 28 off 20 balls reignited hope, and the big-hitting duo of Jason Holder and Romario Shepherd took the fight to Pakistan’s bowlers. The 18th and 19th overs saw boundaries and a six apiece from both players, bringing the equation down to eight needed off the last over.

The Final Over Drama And Holder's Calm!

Shaheen Afridi was tasked with the final over and removed Shepherd with a low full toss that trapped him LBW and limited Holder to singles when boundaries were needed. Yet, his wide ball was costly. With three required off the last ball for a win, and two for a Super Over, Holder slashed for a boundary, and it was a clean win for West Indies.

The match was pure grit from Jason Holder, who rose up to bat in the time of need and also scalped 4 wickets. Shepherd's contribution should also not be forgotten, who stepped up with boundaries and sixes to cut down the gap between required runs and the number of deliveries. With this, the series now stands poised at 1-1 with the decider to be played on August 4.