MULTAN: Pakistan vice-captain Shadab Khan shone with his brilliant all-round performance as he took four wickets after playing a crucial 86-run knock to guide the home side beat the West Indies by 3-0.
Set to chase 270 in 48 overs, West Indies could only manage to score 216 before being bowled out in the 38th over.
The touring side were off to a poor start in the run chase as they lost their first wicket for a mere 25 runs as the left-handed opener Kyle Mayers perished after scoring just five.
The wicket-keeper batter Shai Hope and the right-handed batter Shamarh Brooks then looked to anchor the run chase but failed as the former walked back to the pavilion after scoring 21.
Following his departure, the side began to lose wickets at an alarming rate and were soon slipped from 52-1 to 93-5.
Akeal Hosein and Keacy Carty then put on an important 36-run partnership for the sixth wicket and were looking determined to pull their side out of danger before the latter got deceived by Pakistan’s hero of the day Shadab as the young wicket-keeper Mohammad Haris did the rest behind the wickets.
Hosein, on the other hand, remained firm and kept the scoreboard ticking single-handedly while the tailenders were making their way back to the pavilion after scoring cheaply.
The left-handed batter then also made his way back as he fell to Shadab in the 35th over. He remained the top-scorer for his side with a blistering knock of 60 runs off just 37 balls, laced with two boundaries and six sixes.
The West Indian batting tail had no answers to the strong Pakistan bowling attack and the touring side soon bundled out for 216 in the 38th over.
For Pakistan, Shadab led the way with four wickets while Hasan Ali and Mohammad Nawaz bagged two each. Mohammad Wasim Jr and Shahnawaz Dahani, on the other hand, made one scalp apiece.
Pakistan, after opting to bat first in the third ODI were off to a decent start as the opening pair of Imam-ul-Haq and Fakhar Zaman put on a brilliant 85-run partnership for the first wicket.
Fakhar, who was struggling to get going, fell in the 17th over as the part-timer Nicholas Pooran castled him for 35.
Pakistan skipper Babar Azam, who was in sublime form in the ODIs, had a rare failure as he walked back after managing to score a mere one run after Hayden Walsh trapped the right-hander in his legs.
Imam then put on a brief 25-run partnership with the wicket-keeper batter Mohammad Rizwan as the former fell briefly after reaching his seventh consecutive ODI fifty. Imam scored 62 off 68 balls with the help of seven boundaries and a six.
Following his departure, the home side began to lose wickets at an alarming rate and slipped to 117/5 in the 25th over.
Pakistan vice-captain Shadab and the left-handed all-rounder Khushdil Shah anchored the inning with a valiant 84-run partnership for the sixth wicket before the latter lost his wicket after scoring 34.
Following his departure, Shadab carried on his valiant knock and kept the scoreboard ticking single-handedly while the tailenders were walking back to the pavilion with small contributions.
The right-handed all-rounder top-scored for the side with a brilliant knock of 86 on just 78 balls, laced with four boundaries and three sixes before Jayden Seales castled him in the final over.
For the West Indies, Pooran led the way with four wickets while Keemo Paul bagged two. Hosein, Walsh, and Seales, on the other hand, made one scalp each.
