WI vs PAK: Top five performers from the drawn Test series
West Indies and Pakistan drew the two-match Test series 1-1 to open their accounts in the second cycle of the World Test Championship. West Indies scripted a victory for the ages to remember as they clinched a thrilling one-wicket win in the first Test before Pakistan made a roaring comeback to win the second encounter by 109 runs.
Here are the top performers from the series:
5) Fawad Alam (Pakistan)
Pakistan’s Fawad Alam was the team’s saviour alongside Babar Azam in the second Test, where he recorded his fifth Test ton, a 124-run knock off 213 balls, with 17 boundaries. It was his patient knock en route to a match-changing partnership of 158 runs for the fourth wicket that allowed Pakistan to post a challenging first-innings score of 302/9. He finished the series with 180 runs in three innings at a massive average of 90.
4) Jayden Seales (West Indies)
Young @jayden_seales comes in 2nd for Most Wickets taken in the Betway Test Series presented by Osaka Batteries! 🌴👏🏽👏🏽#WIvsPAK #MenInMaroon pic.twitter.com/z2yioutSvd
— Windies Cricket (@windiescricket) August 25, 2021
West Indies pacer Jayden Seales finished the series as the second-highest wicket-taker (11 wickets at 17.09), behind Shaheen Afridi. Seales played a crucial role in his team’s victory in the first Test, where he ended as the Player of the Match for his 3/70 and 5/55 in the two innings, respectively.
3) Jason Holder (West Indies)
Proving his worth as one of the finest all-rounders in the current era, Jason Holder shone with both ball and bat as he finished the series as the third-highest run-scorer (147 runs at 36.75, including a half-century), while he also bagged eight wickets at an average of 16.87.
2) Babar Azam (Pakistan)
Pakistan skipper Babar Azam finished the series as the leading run-scorer, tallying 193 runs in four innings at an average of 48.75, including two half-centuries. His 75-run knock in the second Test after West Indies reduced Pakistan to 2/3 ensured that Pakistan did not lose the plot entirely.
1) Shaheen Shah Afridi (Pakistan)
With his 18-wicket #WIvPAK series haul, Shaheen Shah Afridi now has the most wickets in Test cricket for a fast bowler this year 👊 🇵🇰 pic.twitter.com/lkTLnYKmJG
— Pakistan Cricket (@TheRealPCB) August 25, 2021
Pakistan’s young sensation Shaheen Afridi was at his devastating best during the second Test, where he returned with figures of 6/51 in the first innings followed by 4/43 in the second to claim a ten-wicket haul. He scalped eight wickets in the first Test to take his tally to 18 wickets at an impressive average of 11.27. Much deservingly, Afridi won the Player of the Series award, while he was also named the Player of the Match in the second Test.
