Windies will need to fix their death bowling, feels Nicholas Pooran

West Indies skipper Nicholas Pooran, on the back of his side’s 120-run defeat in the second ODI against Pakistan, highlighted death bowling as one of the areas his side will need to improve on, and labeled the outing on Friday as a ‘tough day’ at the office. 

The first ODI saw Khusdil Shah take the game away from the Windies in the final four overs, and on Friday, the visitors once again lost the plot at the death. From 187/2 in the 35th over, Windies fought back admirably to reduce Pakistan to 234/7 prior to the start of the 46th over, but the hosts ended up scoring 41 runs in the final five despite having just one recognized batter in the middle. Between them, bowlers Mohammad Wasim Jr and Shaheen Shah Afridi scored 32 off just 19 balls. 

Speaking post the encounter, Pooran said that his side ended up conceding 20 runs too many.

“Tough day for us. I thought we bowled well in the first 45 overs but conceded 20 too many. Death bowling has been a problem for us. The guys are young and inexperienced. Hopefully we'll get better with every game,” the Windies skipper said.

The Windies’ slide at the death, however, ultimately did not matter as they ended up losing the contest by an eye-watering 120-run margin. After a brisk start from Kyle Mayers and Shamarh Brooks, the visitors fell apart, being run-through by a red-hot Mohammad Nawaz whose four-fer contributed to West Indies being bowled out for 155. Pooran rued the ‘soft’ dismissals on the night, but credited Nawaz for proving to be unplayable on the night.

“There were some soft dismissals, it wasn't our day. Credit must be given to Nawaz who bowled really well. It was definitely a challenging wicket.”

Player of the Match, Nawaz, who finished with figures of 4/19 off his 10, revealed that he merely focused on doing the basics right. The 28-year-old, who batted at No.6 in the second ODI, also asserted that he is keen on taking his batting to the next level.

“I was focusing on the basics, the pitch assisted me. The ball was turning, we had an idea in the first innings, particularly after I got out. I have confidence in my batting, I want to do well as an allrounder and improve day by day,” Nawaz said.