Happy Birthday Keemo Paul: A Look at Some Brilliant Performances by the Windies All-Rounder
The World saw first of Paul during the 2016 World Cup where he consistently delivered with the ball and played a crucial role in guiding West Indies to the title. Two years later, he was drafted into the senior side and made his international debut in March 2018.
West Indies all-rounder Keemo Paul celebrates his 22nd birthday on Friday (February 21, 2020). Hailing from Guyana, the young lad has shown great promise early in his career and seems to be a great prospect for the future. Paul possesses the ability to use the new ball to good effect as he can bowl at a decent pace and can hurry the batsmen. However, it's the death overs where he is most lethal as the bowler has a bucket of variations in his armoury which can challenge the best of the batsmen. Paul is also a handy batsman lower down the order and has played some impressive cameos too. Oshane Thomas, West Indies Pacer, Escapes Serious Injury in Car Accident in Jamaica.
The World saw first of Paul during the 2016 World Cup where he consistently delivered with the ball and played a crucial role in guiding West Indies to the title. Two years later, he was drafted into the senior side and made his international debut in March 2018. In that year only, he went to play all the three formats of the game and impressed one and all. His blitzes also grabbed the attention of Delhi Capitals (DC) and he featured in the 2019 edition of Indian Premier League (IPL). Meanwhile, let's look at some best T20 performances by West Indies' rising star.
2/23 & 28 Against Bangladesh in Sylhet
Paul put an all-round display during the first T20I of West Indies' 2018 Tour of Bangladesh and guided his side over the line. Bowling first, the pacer cramped the opposition's scoring rate and took two crucial wickets. As a result, the home side was bundled out for mere 129 runs. While chasing, Paul was sent at number four and he delivered with the willow too. He played a fiery cameo and his 14-ball 28 guided his side to an eight-wicket triumph.
5/15 Against Bangladesh in Dhaka
The right-arm pacer was certainly at his prime during West Indies' 2018 Tour of Bangladesh. However, his best performance came during the third and last T20I of the series. On a track where the Caribbean batsmen piled up 190 runs, Paul delivered a breathtaking spell and rattled Bangladesh's batting line-up. He went to claim a five-fer as West Indies emerged victorious by 50 runs.
3/17 Against Sunrisers Hyderabad in Hyderabad
Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) certainly had one of the best batting line-ups, if not the best, during IPL 2019. However, their batsmen were foxed by the variations of Paul. The right-arm pacer dismissed the likes of the in-form Jonny Bairstow and skipper Kane Williamson and dented SRH's batting line-up. As a result, the home side couldn't chase a peculiar looking target of 156 runs and lost the match by 39 runs.
The star all-rounder will be next seen in action during the 2020 edition of IPL where he will be again seen representing DC. Also, with the ICC T20 World Cup 2020 approaching, Paul will eye to put up a good show in the cash-rich league to secure a berth in West Indies' squad for the showpiece tournament.
(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Feb 21, 2020 09:00 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).