Dubai: A fine half-century by skipper Babar Azam and an unbeaten 46 by Fakhar Zaman helped Pakistan beat defending champions West Indies by 7 wickets with 27 balls to spare in a warm-up match of the T20 World Cup here Monday.
Pakistan restricted West Indies to 130/7 in their allotted 20 overs with Shaheen Shah Afridi (2/41), Hasan Ali (2/21), and Haris Rauf (2/32) taking two wickets apiece. West Indies lost early wickets and continued to lose wickets at regular intervals as they managed to reach 130/7. No West Indies batsman got past score of30 as the unpredictable West Indies.
In response, Pakistan had a decent start as Mohammed Rizwan (13) and Babar Azam raised 36/1 when Rizwan was bowled by veteran Ravi Rampaul. But Babar Azam continued the vigil, hitting his half-century in the process as Pakistan romped to o victory. Babar Azam face 41 delivers.
In other warm-up matches ahead of the T20 World Cup, Australia beat New Zealand while South Africa beat Afghanistan by 41 runs.
Brief scores:
West Indies 130/7 in 20 overs (Shimron Hetmyer 28; Hasan Ali 2/21, Haris Rauf 2/32) lost to Pakistan 131/3 in 15.3 overs (Babar Azam 50, Fakhar Zaman 46*; Hayden Walsh 2/41).
New Zealand 158/7 in 20 overs (Martin Guptill 30, Kane Williamson 37, Daryl Mitchell 33; Kane Richardson 3/24, Adam Zampa 2/17) lost to Australia 159/7 in 19.5 overs (Steve Smith 35, Marcus Stoinis 28, Mitchell Marsh 24, Aaron Finch 24; Mitchell Santner 3/22, Trent Boult 2/12)
South Africa 145/5 in 20 overs (Aiden Markram 48, Tamba Bavuma 31; Mujeeb Ur Rahman 3/24) beat Afghanistan 104/8 in 20 overs (Mohammad Nabi 34 not out, Tabraiz Shamsi 3/18, Lungi Hgidi 2/270.