GEORGETOWN – Another inexplicable batting collapse by West Indies and the sheer brilliance of Pakistan’s enigmatic all-rounder Shahid Afridi combined to ruin a memorable day for Jason Holder as the hosts crashed to a 126-run defeat in the first One-day International yesterday.
Marlon Samuels hit the topscore of 25 and Darren Sammy was not out on 21, but no other batsman reached 20, as Afridi made the West Indies’ chase of 225 a mountainous task with his flat, fast leg-spin, ending with the amazing figures of 9-3-12-7 that earned him the Man-of-the-Match award and saw the hosts crumble for 98.
West Indies’ final total of 98 was their lowest in ODIs against Pakistan and their worst against any team on home soil, as Afridi claimed the second-best figures ever in this form of the game.
The 21-year-old Holder, gaining appreciable sideways movement from the Guyana National Stadium pitch, had produced his best spell in his brief career a few hours earlier, putting West Indies in early control (JG)
