Amidst the India Vs England series, the Pakistan Super League, and IPL Auctions around the corner, this series was not really supposed to be the marquee series. In hindsight, this series will be remembered forever due to the extraordinary feats of Kyle Mayers and Nkrumah Bonner.
As Ian Bishop exclaimed, “These men have achieved what many thought was impossible.”
There were other moments as well during the series—Shakib Al Hasan’s much anticipated return, Rovman Powell’s ODI resurgence, Mehidy Hasan Miraz & Mominul’s tons, and finally, the new West Indian ‘engine room’—Jermaine Blackwood, Bonner, Mayers, Joshua Da Silva, and Alzarri Joseph.
*Note: Underlined & Bolded links are videos. Underlined without bold are links to other articles.
The West Indies batting underwhelmed in the ODIs with scorecards that read 5-56 (122 all out), 8-88 (148 all out), 6-117 (177 all out). Questions will be asked for the second string squad & the necessity of mental health breaks during COVID, but the Test series saved those questions for now.
In all the collapses, one batsman stood out—Rovman Powell. 28, 41, & 47 briefly resurrected the West Indies’ innings, but he would want to convert those in the near future.
With not many runs on the board, only Akeal Hosein stood out with a 3-wicket haul.
Tests
Rakheem Cornwall joins the party. Ever since his international selection, questions have always surrounded him – whether it is his fitness or batting ability. 14 wickets in the series and great slip catches will ensure he stays in the squad for a while now.
Time to talk about the debutants—Kyle Mayers & Nkrumah Bonner. The talk of the town. Debuting at the age of 28, his maturity was on-spot with a 40 and a 4th innings 210*. Mind blowing. Successful chase of 396 with a partnership of 216. Although Bonner did not scale the heights of a century, he contributed in both matches with 17 & 86 and 90 & 38.
With the glory surrounding Mayers & Bonner, Joshua Da Silva has quietly emerged as a solid middle order option for the West Indies. Scores of 42, 20, 92, & 20 did not light the world on fire, but the partnerships surely did (99, 100, 88, 118).
Alzarri Joseph is turning out to be a gem for the West Indies. After his 86 against New Zealand recently, he came up with a 82 in Bangladesh. Future fast-bowling all rounder?
Bangladesh
ODIs
Tamim Iqbal’s batting has been effective without being flashy, unlike the pre-2015 Iqbal. A senior top-order batsman & now captain, he was responsible with scores of 44, 50, & 64. With 7360 runs in ODI, he is definitely Bangladesh’s all-time best ODI batsman. And he is only 31.
Shakib Al Hasan’s return to cricket after his 1 year ban was seamless. 4/8 in the first ODI, player of the match, and player of the series. Unfortunately, the injury cut his Test series short. Next place? IPL with KKR. What a steal (Although he is skipping the Sri Lanka Test series).
Mehidy Hasan Miraz is the next all-rounder in line after Shakib Al Hasan. Already a star, he regularly contributes with the bat and ball. In the ODI series, he was the highest wicket taker.
Speaking of Mehidy Hasan, Test match batting. 103, 57, & 31 – losing cause but kept his shoulders high.
Liton Das, another budding youngster, has largely underwhelmed in his short career so far. Averages of 28.62, 30.97, & 22.71 in Tests, ODIs, and T20Is, does not justify his talent. Pretty 20s and 30s are not going to get you too far in international cricket, but scores of 69, 38, 71, & 22 show growing signs of maturity for Liton Das.
Captain Mominul Haque quelled the voices around him with a second innings 115 in the first Test. 3048 runs at 41.18 with 10 centuries and best of 181 is a decent record, but he needs to play more of these “captain’s innings.”
We like to spice things up with our own awards for the series. Here they are:
Bangladesh
West Indies
Emerging Player
Mehidy Hasan Miraj, the Test batsman
Joshua Da Silva & Ian Bishop’s commentary
Surprise Package
Liton Das
Rakheem Cornwall
Broken Cricket Dream
Shakib Al Hasan (injured)
Jason Holder’s captaincy (Braithwaite permanent?)
West Indies Vs Bangladesh 2021: Awards
Who would have been your Emerging Player for the West Indies Vs Bangladesh 2021 series? Surprise Player? Broken Cricket Dream? Let us know below WITH COMMENTS! Also please subscribe!
Bangladesh will fly to New Zealand for 3 T20Is and 3 ODIs. Then they will tour Sri Lanka in April to complete the twice postponed WTC series.
West Indies
West Indies will tour Sri Lanka for a T20I series. Returns for Chris Gayle (who cut his PSL campaign short for international return) and Fidel Edwards (Kolpak deals end with Brexit). Definitely looking like a side who is willing to go for their 3rd World T20 World Cup title.
Gayle even said he will try to play cricket till 45. Wow. GOAT.
Pakistan Vs South Africa 2021 Series Review—a historical series. South Africa’s first visit to the nation after more than a decade.
The return of Aiden Markram and Hasan Ali, the absence of Mohammad Hafeez, lots of Mohammad Rizwan, and curtains to Faf Du Plessis’ Test career. We look at the highs & lows, broken dreams, emerging players, and World T20I Watch.
Mohammad Rizwan – 197 runs (1 – 100, 1 – 50, best of 104*, average 98.5, 145.92 SR)
David Miller – 116 runs (1 – 50, best of 85*, average 116, 156.75 SR)
Most Wickets
Usman Qadir – 4 wickets (best of 2/21, 6.90 economy)
Tabraiz Shamsi – 6 wickets (best of 4/25, 5.08 economy)
T20I Series Stats
The Highlights
Pakistan
Test
The energizer is back with Pakistan. Hasan Ali’s domestic resurgence has translated directly into international performances. 5/54 & 5/60 match winning 10-fer. Skiddy action, the passion, and the celebration.
In the last 5 first class matches, Fawad Alam has scores of 139 (vs NZ A), 102, 109, 45. Consistency and the 109 at home. Destined.
It is the season of Faheem Ashraf-Mohammad Rizwan partnership. After a streak of match-saving consecutive overseas 50s for Rizwan, he finally converted to a ton with 115* in Rawalpandi. Similarly, following his 91 in New Zealand, Ashraf followed up with 64 and 78* in Pakistan.
T20I
Rizwan strikes again. Followed up his Test century with a 104*, 51, and 42 in the T20Is. Brilliant. Just brilliant. And if you thought that was consistent enough, now has scores of 71 and 41 for Karachi Kings in the PSL.
Let us talk about the ones missing in action (at least offline), shall we? Mohammad Hafeez and Sarfaraz Ahmed. The best Pakistan T20I batsman over the past year, Mohammad Hafeez opted out of the international series due to T10 league & clashes with the quarantine dates for the South Africa series. Yet, he was active on Twitter and had a few exchanges with former captain and current substitute, Sarfaraz. Hopefully, it is just a one-time thing and Pakistan cricket can move on.
It seems that Aiden Markram debuted ages ago. After his brilliant start to Test cricket in 2017, it seemed that Markram was in an eternal downward spiral. Still only 26, this overseas tour of Pakistan may well be a watershed rejuvenation moment for Markram. Long career ahead.
When one door opens, another closes. While Markram excelled, Quinton de Kock had a horrific series with the bat. 4 innings – 46 runs. Now, he is also released as the Test captain and has taken a mental health break from South Africa’s domestic tournament.
Speaking of closed doors, Faf Du Plessis. The sun has finally set on a career marked with tenacity, grit, leadership, and hope. A Test career that started a bit late due to the great South African generation, a debut stonewalling to remember at Adelaide, a few blockathons here and there, a lot of Australia and India, captaincy records, and an iconic 199 to cap it off. Hats off Faf. Be sure to read our tribute to Faf below.
KILLER MILLER IS BACK!!!! Look at some of the hits here. 85* (45) with 7 sixes albeit in a losing cause. Almost half a decade since this type of innings. Good signs for the Proteas looking forward to the T20I World Cup.
Moving to the bowling side, Dwaine Pretorius slowly inking his name in the T20I XI. A 5 wicket haul including a brilliant yorker. Scalps of Babar Azam and in-form Mohammad Rizwan. Not bad.
Tabraiz Shamsi has been the unsung mainstay of South African bowling recently. The fast bowling unit bar Rabada (and now, Nortje) seems to be a revolving door, but the absence of Imran Tahir has not been felt due to Shamsi. Highest wicket taker in the T20I series with a miserly economy.
The Awards
We like to spice things up with our own awards for the series. Here they are:
Pakistan
South Africa
Emerging Player
Hasan Ali 2.0, Fawad Alam 3.0, and Rizwan-Ashraf partnership
Left Arm Spinners
Surprise Package
Usman Qadir
Return of Aiden Markram
Broken Cricket Dream
Mohammad Hafeez-Sarfaraz Ahmed Twitter Exchanges
Test retirement of Faf Du Plessis
Pakistan Vs South Africa 2021 Review: The Awards
Who would have been your Emerging Player? Surprise Player? Broken Cricket Dream? Let us know below WITH COMMENTS! Also please share and subscribe below!\
These two teams will be back in action in April with Pakistan returning the favor with 3 ODIs and 4 T20Is, completing a postponed series from last year.
South Africa are still in a transition zone. The longer they stay here, the worse it gets. It is good to see the younger generation of players stand up, but hope it all meshes by the time the World T20 Cup hits later this year.
Pakistan are one to watch for the T20 World Cup. The PSL is being held at the right time, enough time for young stars to appear and get some international games under their belt.
World T20 Watch
Leading up to the World Cup, we are picking a 15 player squad after each series.
Pakistan
For reference, here was our earlier WT20 watch for Pakistan’s squad in our Pak Vs NZ series review. Some new faces have come into play, while some players have dropped off the list.
Babar Azam (C), 2. Mohammad Rizwan (WK), 3. Haider Ali, 4. Mohammad Hafeez, 5. Shadab Khan, 6.. Imad Wasim, 7. Faheem Ashraf, 8. Hasan Ali, 9. Haris Rauf, 10. Shaheen Shah Afridi, 11. Usman Qadir
Squad: 12. Naseem Shah, 13. Mohammad Nawaz/Zafar Gohar/Zahid Mahmood, 14. Sarfaraz Ahmed (WK)/Sharjeel Khan, 15. Iftikhar Ahmed/Shoaib Malik
Other Reserves in Contention: Imam-Ul-Haq/Fakhar Zaman (opener), Mohammad Hasnain/Mohammad Musa/Aamer Yamin (fast bowler), Khusdil Shah/Hussain Talat/Asif Ali (lower order finisher)
Wildcard: Sohail Tanvir
Probably curtains for Wahab Riaz & possible Mohammad Amir comeback.
South Africa
Quinton de Kock* (WK), 2. Janneman Malan, 3. Faf du Plessis, 4. Rassie Van der Dussen, 5. Heinrich Klassen (C), 6. David Miller, 7. George Linde, 8. Chris Morris, 9. Kagiso Rabada, 10. Anrich Nortje, 11. Tabraiz Shamsi
Other Reserves In Contention: Lutho Sipamla/Bjorn Fortuin/Junior Dala, Pete van Biljon, Temba Bavuma/ Reeza Hendricks/Aiden Markram
Wildcard: AB De Villiers (WK), Marco Jansen?
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