Springer's hat-trick seals consolation win for West Indies

A hat-trick from Shamar Springer helped the West Indies leave Dubai on a consolatory note having beaten Afghanistan by 15 runs in the third T20I. Asked to bat first, a steady 47 from captain Brandon King laid the foundation before a late charge from Matthew Forde and Springer took the West Indies to 151/7. Afghanistan's chase was one of two halves, with them exercising nearly full control during a 72-run opening stand before crumbling to 136/8 by the end of the innings.

The West Indies started with great momentum thanks to Brandon King who raced to 21 off 12 by the end of the PowerPlay. While King was quick off the blocks, his partners did not find it as easy. Charles was dismissed for a run-a-ball 17 while Keacy Carty, who was dismissed in the 10th over, contributed just 10 off 19 in his 35-run stand with King.

The Afghanistan spinners then applied the squeeze, ensuring no boundaries were struck between the ninth and 14th over. Shimron Hetmyer attempted to infuse some momentum by striking Mohammad Nabi for two sixes in the 15th over but Rashid Khan hit back in the following over with the wickets of both King and Hetmyer.

Afghanistan failed to sustain their discipline heading into the death overs. Forde's quickfire 11-ball 27, including two sixes and two fours, and Springer's unbeaten 9-ball 16 pushed the visitors past the 150-run mark.

In pursuit, Afghanistan had little to worry with their openers stitching a fluent partnership. Rahmanullah Gurbaz assumed the role of an attacker and smacked his way to 44-ball fifty. At 94/1, having only lost Ibrahim Zadran, Afghanistan appeared to be in complete control at the end of the 14th over.

Springer gave the West Indies another breakthrough by dismissing Sediqullah Atal and there was a halt in play after Gurbaz suffered a painful blow to his face the very next ball. Backing up for a single, Gurbaz was struck by a throw that bounced unexpectedly, dislodging his helmet and sending him tumbling down while clutching his face. There was a period of great concern as Gurbaz received medical attention before he got back on his feet and resumed batting.

While Gurbaz's situation improved, Afghanistan's did not. Darwish Rasooli was out in the following over while Nabi departed in the one after that. With 25 needed off the last two overs, Springer crushed Afghanistan's hopes with a hat-trick, the second of the series following one by Mujeeb Ur Rahman earlier, by dismissing Gurbaz, Rashid and Shahidullah Kamal. Afghanistan were left needing 20 off the last over before Gulbadin Naib was run-out attempting a second run to retain the strike.

Brief Scores: West Indies 151/7 in 20 overs (Brandon King 47, Matthew Forde 27; Rashid Khan 2-13) beat Afghanistan 136/8 in 20 overs (Rahmanullah Gurbaz 71, Ibrahim Zadran 28; Shamar Springer 4-20) by 15 runs.