Captain Shai Hope’s brilliant unbeaten century and Jayden Seales’ devastating bowling powered West Indies to a thumping 202-run victory over Pakistan in the third one-day international on Tuesday, clinching a historic 2-1 series win.
It was the Caribbean side’s first bilateral ODI series triumph over Pakistan since 1991, ending a long run of home series defeats in both Test and T20 formats against Australia and Pakistan.
Hope struck an unbeaten 120 from 94 balls, hitting five sixes and 10 fours, and shared a rapid, unbroken seventh-wicket stand of 110 runs with Justin Greaves, who smashed 43 off just 24 balls. West Indies finished on 294-6 at the Brian Lara Stadium in Tarouba.
In reply, Pakistan crumbled to 92 all out in 29.2 overs. Seales ripped through the top order, taking 6-18 in 7.2 overs. Pakistan’s chase faltered immediately, slumping to 23-4 inside nine overs, with three of the top four dismissed for ducks.
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Opener Saim Ayub fell to the third ball of the innings, Abdullah Shafique followed without scoring, and captain Mohammad Rizwan was bowled first ball by Seales. Babar Azam (9) was trapped lbw by the pacer for his fourth wicket. Salman Agha provided brief resistance with 30 off 49 balls, but the collapse continued as Hasan Nawaz (13) was stumped off Gudakesh Motie and Hussain Talat (1) was bowled by Roston Chase. The innings ended with a run-out of Abrar Ahmed for a golden duck.
Hope said he was “extremely proud” of his team, noting that recent focus had been on the negatives in West Indies cricket. “Now there are positives to shout about,” he said.
The emphatic win followed a turbulent period, including a two-day crisis summit attended by legends Brian Lara and Clive Lloyd to map a revival plan, after the team’s batting collapse for just 27 runs in a Test against Australia.
West Indies had lost the ODI opener to Pakistan by five wickets, leveled the series with a five-wicket win in the second match, and then dominated the decider to complete a morale-boosting victory.