West Indies End Six-game Losing Streak With Thrilling Win Over Pakistan in 2nd T20I of The Series

Jason Holder's all-round show, where he took four wickets and then smashed a boundary off the final ball of the game, took the West Indies to a thrilling two-wicket victory over Pakistan on Saturday and levelled the three-match T20 series.

The veteran all-rounder was at his best as he took 4-19 in his four overs, as Pakistan struggled to 133-9 after they won the toss and batted in Florida. 

The West Indies reply was far from straightfoeard as Pakistan's spinners ensured scoring was not easy. 

But late cameos from Gudakesh Motie and Romario Shepherd kept West Indies alive before Holder's heroics off Pakistan talisman Shaheen Shah Afridi's final delivery unleashed wild celebrations. 

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Unwanted Losing Streak Ends

It is the first T20 victory for West Indies in seven matches, a streak that saw them suffer a 5-0 series defeat to Australia - which itself came after a Test series cleansweep loss the month before.

Earlier, Hasan Nawaz’s 40 from 23 balls and captain Salman Agha’s 38 from led Pakistan from a precarious 53-4 in the 10th over, but 133 looked a vulnerable target at the innings break. 

Fresh from taking three wickets in Pakistan's 14-run win in the opening game at the same venue on Thursday, Mohammad Nawaz took another three in this game too, returning 3-14 from his four overs.

And the West Indies found scoring at an economy over 5 very difficult on a spin-friendly pitch and suffered from a regular loss of wickets.

When Roston Chase was teased into a big shot by Saim Ayub (2-20), West Indies had sunk to 70-5 in the 14th over and looking at a massive task to end their losing streak.

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West Indies Rally to Win

Motie brought the innings back on track, scoring a quickfire 28 before Shepherd chipped in with 15 precious runs, including taking 10 runs off Hasan Ali in the penultimate over.

Needing eight runs from the final over, Afridi (1-31) removed Shepherd off the second ball, with Holder and new batter Shamar Joseph only able to take singles in the next three balls.

Afridi then bowled a wide to leave West Indies needing three runs from the final ball. Holder then found the gap at backward square to score the boundary they needed to end their losing streak.

The third T20 will be held in Lauderhill on Sunday before an ODI series takes place in the Caribbean.