5 standout performers from the Pakistan vs West Indies Test series

#5 Jason Holder

Jason Holder led his side to victory in the final Test

This was a direct tossup between Darren Bravo and Jason Holder. However, Holder edges past him for his decisive all-round contributions and captaincy that led West Indies to their historic Test triumph.

Jason Holder bowled with a lot of heart but without much luck throughout the series. Darren Bravo batted brilliantly in the first Test, with scores of 87 and 116. His second innings century, especially, helped us rewind memories of some of Brian Lara’s finest single-handed knocks for the Windies. But then, he fell on the brink of saving or winning that Test and his performances tapered off as the series progressed.

Before he caught Yasir Shah off his own bowling in the 1st Test, Holder had a solitary wicket to his name from 5 Tests in 2016. His credentials as a strike bowler were put to scrutiny by his critics. But to be fair to him, he had always either under-bowled himself or bowled with discipline and control but without wickets to show for it.

In this particular series, he sent down about 87 overs and picked 9 wickets at an impressive average of 23.66. The wickets that deserted him earlier came in plenty when he would have hoped for it the most. While taking the first innings lead gave the Windies some advantage, it was Holder’s spell of 5/30 that folded up Pakistan for 208 in their second innings, giving them a firm hold over the match.

Throughout the series, Holder played some handy knocks with the bat when the top order collapsed, notably his unbeaten 40 in the first Test and his partnership with Bravo that almost took them to victory.With his all-round performances with bat and ball, Holder deserves mention for leading by example, a largely young and inexperienced Test side.