Pakistan v West Indies, 2nd T20I, Dubai
Carlos Brathwaite called correctly as West Indies, seemingly wary of the dew and a top-order capitulation on Friday, stuck to their tried and tested method of chasing down targets in the shortest format.
Brathwaite, who announced an unchanged XI, was aware of how much West Indies had to apply themselves better against Pakistan’s plethora of slow options, but insisted his side will continue to be aggressive, and not get bogged down in the face of pressure.
“We just have to be situationally more aware,” he said at the toss. “Yesterday was a bad game. We didn’t apply ourselves as much as we wanted to, but we want to continue playing the brand of cricket that has brought us success.
Sarfraz Ahmed, his opposite number, also announced an unchanged XI, which meant Mohammad Amir, who got married in Lahore earlier in the week, will continue to sit out. Sarfraz was hopeful of getting a big enough total to ensure his spinners have something to work with, despite a greasy outfield that has come to be the norm in the second half at this venue, especially at this time of the year.
Pakistan: 1 Sharjeel Khan 2 Khalid Latif 3 Babar Azam 4 Shoaib Malik 5 Umar Akmal 6 Sarfraz Ahmed 7 Imad Wasim 8 Sohail Tanvir 9 Hasan Ali 10 Wahab Riaz 11 Mohammad Nawaz
West Indies: 1 Evin Lewis 2 Johnson Charles 3 Andre Fletcher 4 Marlon Samuels 5 Nicholas Pooran 6 Dwayne Bravo 7 Kieron Pollard 8 Carlos Brathwaite 9 Sunil Narine 10 Samuel Badree 11 Jerome Taylor. (ESPNcricinfo)
Shashank Kishore is a senior sub-editor at ESPNcricinfo
