Half an appeal, massive wicket

Samuel Badree may be a legspinner, but he does not bowl full tosses. So when he lobbed one up for the easiest slog sweep for four that Ahmed Shehzad would ever play, it seemed odd. It became clear the very next ball, though, that Badree was merely lulling his opponent into a false sense of security. He sensed Shehzad coming down the track, dragged his length back, gave it a good rip so that it spun right past the outside edge and crashed into middle stump.

Marlon Samuels had not bowled in international cricket since November 2015, when he was banned for a suspect action. Cleared in February this year, he was called in to deliver the 13th over. He began with a rank full toss , the kind of hit-me delivery that gully cricketers would be embarrassed about. So naturally it produced a wicket in international cricket as Kamran Akmal, on 48, walloped it straight to deep midwicket. The batsman was hoping it would be called no-ball for height, but considering he was crouching in his stance, it was ruled legal.

The batsman was several yards short of his ground. It seemed like Sarfraz Ahmed was going to pay for his greed - looking for a quick single - but West Indies did not look even the least bit excited. Jason Holder, the man who had broken the stumps at the bowler's end, was already making his way to the top of his mark because he thought he had not collected the ball cleanly. But he had. Clearly. Comfortably. He had got rid of the Pakistan captain without realising it. Good thing Carlos Brathwaite wasn't as dozy and put in the polite enquiry that brought the third umpire into play.

Two days ago, West Indies were terribly under par in the field. "At least it wasn't for lack of trying," their supporters might say. Well, that excuse went out the window in the third T20I. A gentle little clip off the pads from Babar Azam was given free passage to the boundary because Holder, running to his right from midwicket, and Evin Lewis, racing to his left from square leg, forgot to do the most important things. Call - and then field the ball.