West Indies vs Pakistan T20I match called off due to rain, series reduced by one match

The West Indies vs Pakistan Twenty20 Internationals got off to a damp but exciting start at the Kensington Oval in Barbados. After rain delayed the match by two-and-a-half hours, the match was reduced to a nine-over affair. Pakistan chose to field and immediately, there was drama. Mohammad Wasim Jr, the first player to play from Pakistan from the Waziristan province in NWFP, bowled a pacy 142 kmph delivery that hit Lendl Simmons the head. He was alright but he felt the effects of the concussion and walked off.

Evin Lewis, who began with a boundary off Shaheen Afridi, chipped a full, slow delivery from Hasan Ali to be caught at mid-on. This gave Hasan, who had a very impressive tour of England, his 50^th T20I wicket. Nicholas Pooran blasted two sixes in over off Mohammad Hafeez. But, the veteran had the last laugh as he bowled a quicker ball and Pooran sliced the drive to point.

WINDIES stumble vs Pakistan

Chris Gayle and Andre Russell smashed a six each to signal their intention. However, Usman Qadir sent back Russell, with the review also not saving him. In the seventh over, Wasim Jr got his first international wicket when Gayle hit a slower ball straight to long-on. Kieron Pollard hit a six off Hasan but the bowler continued his good run with the wicket of Shimron Hetmyer.

Pollard blasted a six and a four off Shaheen Afridi to get to 22 off nine balls. The next highest score was extras, with Pakistan not helping by conceding 14 extras. It included eight leg byes and six wides. However, just when the West Indies innings ended, the rain picked up intensity. Play had to resume with 15 minutes for a five-over game to commence. But, the rain did not let up and the game was called off.

West Indies vs Pakistan series reduced

But, in another major development, the washout of this game has meant that the series between West Indies and Pakistan is now a three-match shootout. The reason, the original five-match T20I series has now been culled to a four-match series.

The reason? The coronavirus outbreak in the second ODI between West Indies and Australia has forced the board to cancel one of the T20Is. The ODI, which was supposed to begin on July 23, was postponed by one day due to COVID-19. The ODI matches were played on July 24 and 26. Ricky Skerritt, the Windies Cricket Board president, said that he had talked with the Pakistan Cricket Board and agreed to cut one T20I off the list.

“Together with the PCB, CWI has examined various scenarios. We jointly agreed that the best solution is to cancel the first T20I and play a four-match T20I series. We keep the rest of the tour schedule unchanged,” Skerritt said in a statement.

This means that the washout in Barbados was the last. The remaining three matches will be played at Providence, Guyana from July 31 to August 3. After the end of the T20Is, Pakistan will play two Tests in Jamaica. After the end of the tour, Pakistan and West Indies will go to the UAE for the ICC World T20 in 2021.