PAK vs WI: Babar Azam suggests, "different combinations with bat and ball" was key to series whitewash

Pakistan`s players shake hand with West Indies` players after winning the third and final ODI. Pic/AFP

Pakistan skipper Babar Azam said that the key ingredient behind the host nation's clean sweep over the West Indies was to keep the visitors in the dark about their team combination as much as possible.

Across the 3 ODI's, Pakistan never stuck with one lineup. Moreover, they also made sure to keep the men in maroon guessing by shuffling their batting order during the games.

Khushdil Shah and Shadab Khan were especially utilized in different positions with the bat in the series, and it paid off. The former sealed the chase in the first game, while the latter's 86 in the third ODI proved to be a game changing knock.

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According to IANS, Azam said, "We executed our plans and got the desired results. We are trying different combinations with bat and ball. We will try to keep continuity and also test our bench strength."

By clinching the 3rd ODI by 53 runs under the Duckworth-Lewis method, Pakistan cemented their 4th place ranking on the Cricket World Cup Super League table. The men in green currently have 90 points, and are only behind Bangladesh, Afghanistan, and England.

West Indies will leave from Multan quite disappointed. At different stages in all three games they had the upper hand, only to cede the advantage back to Pakistan.

According to IANS, West Indies captain Nicholas Pooran was quoted by ICC saying, "The last two games were disappointing for us. We played poorly with the bat. We did well as a team and going forward that will be the template."

(With inputs from IANS)