Karim Janat picks 5/11 as Afghanistan level series against West Indies

Medium pacer Karim Janat returned excellent figures of 5/11 and powered Afghanistan to a series-levelling 41-run victory over West Indies in the second T20 International.

Karim Janat, 21, played the star turn for Afghanistan as they beat West Indies in the 2nd T20I in Lucknow on Saturday (Twitter/ACBOfficials)

Medium pacer Karim Janat returned excellent figures of 5/11 and powered Afghanistan to a series-levelling 41-run victory over West Indies in the second T20 International here on Saturday.

Batting first after winning the toss, Afghanistan managed 147 for even in the stipulated 20 overs, and then, stopped West Indies at 106 for eight at the Bharat Ratna Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee Ekana Cricket Stadium.

The 21-year-old Janat was the day’s top performer, picking the wickets of Evin Lewis, Shimron Hetmyer, Sherfane Rutherford, Kieron Pollard and Keemo Paul.

Story continues below this ad

Coming into the must-win game after losing the first T20I by 30 runs, Afghanistan were off to a quick start before Rahmanullah Gurbaz was dismissed by Kesrick Williams. The pacer was the most successful West Indies bowler, picking up 3/23 in his quota of four overs.

Hazratullah Zazai (26), Janat (26) and Gulbadin Naib were the main contributors with the bat for Afghanistan.

West Indies won the first T20I by 30 runs.

Stay updated with the latest sports news across Cricket, Football, Chess, and more. Catch all the action with real-time live cricket score updates and in-depth coverage of ongoing matches.