What a performance from Jason Holder! He was simply everywhere for West Indies, single-handedly ending their losing streak in T20s with a heroic all-round display.
This is a guy who’s seen it all in his career, and at 33, he showed he’s still got that match-winning magic. I mean, 4 for 19 with the ball, two catches in the field, and then he steps up to hit the winning runs on the last ball? You can’t write a better script than that.
Let’s be honest, the West Indies were a mess coming into this game. They’d barely won any T20s lately, were missing big names like Powell and King to injuries, and had guys retiring or just not playing well. With the World Cup next year, the heat was definitely on.
But Holder was on another level right from the start. He got Ayub caught behind, then got rid of Farhan for cheap, tying Dwayne Bravo’s wicket record in the process. And as if that wasn’t enough, he then took an awesome catch running back from mid-on to send Haris on his way.
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Pakistan recovered briefly through Salman Agha and 18-year-old Hasan Nawaz, who added 60 quick runs. But Holder returned to stop their surge, taking a return catch to remove Nawaz after he had hit three straight sixes, and finishing with his fourth wicket in the final over of his spell.
The chase turned tense. West Indies needed 36 from 18 balls when Holder joined Romario Shepherd. “I told Romario we needed at least four sixes in that scenario. We got three,” Holder said after the match.
In the final over against Shaheen Shah Afridi, Holder first managed a single and then relied on Shamar Joseph to give him back the strike. With four runs needed off the last ball, Afridi went full and straight. Holder shuffled across and hit it behind square for four, sealing the win and erupting in celebration.
“This one means a lot,” he said. “It’s been a tough couple of weeks for us. We just needed a win. For me, it’s about leaving West Indies cricket in a better place than I found it. I have a burning desire to make a change, so I keep putting in my best effort.”
The victory ends a stretch of poor form and keeps the series alive. For Holder, it was a personal and team statement that the West Indies still have fight left in them.
