Visitors fall well short in chase of 285 with Mohammad Nawaz taking four wickets.

By Abdullah Ansari (30th September, 2016)

Toss: West Indies won the toss and chose to field.

Teams:

Pakistan: Azhar Ali (c), Sharjeel Khan, Babar Azam, Shoaib Malik, Sarfraz Ahmed (wk), Mohammad Rizwan, Mohammad Nawaz, Imad Wasiml, Wahab Riaz, Mohammad Amir, Hasan Ali.

West Indies: J Charles, KC Brathwaite, DM Bravo, MN Samuels, D Ramdin (wk), KA Pollard, JO Holder (c), CR Brathwaite, SP Narine, SJ Benn, ST Gabriel.

Pakistan Innings

Pakistan could not have had a worse start to their innings as Azhar got a golden duck off the first delivery as Gabriel started strongly. However, Sharjeel and Babar ensured that Pakistan recovered well. It was Sharjeel who went on the offensive first up, as he took the attack to the West Indians. He took a special liking to Brathwaite's bowling, launching him for a couple of sixes. Babar was sedate at the other end, rotating strike to let Sharjeel take control. However, Sharjeel went for one big shot too many after reaching his fifty and was caught at short third-man. Malik came and got out soon, caught at slip off Narine, leaving Pakistan in some bother.

Sarfraz joined Babar at the crease and it was the latter who took control as he began to up the ante a little. It took him a while to reach his 50, 74 balls to be precise. Sarfraz rotated strike well but struggled to hit boundaries. He was eventually dismissed for 35 after a 99-run partnership. Babar eventually reached his maiden hundred off 117 balls. Rizwan was run-out after some miscommunication. At this point, Babar began to cramp up a bit and thus hit out, cleanly launching a couple of big sixes. His stunning innings came to an end as he was caught by Pollard who took an amazing catch at the boundary. Imad and Nawaz got going but there was a sudden stoppage due to floodlight failure; by the time they got back, the match was reduced to 49 overs a side. Pakistan failed to carry on with the same momentum after the break as they ended up with 284/9.

Fall Of Wickets

1-0 (Azhar Ali, 0.1 ov)
2-82 (Sharjeel Khan, 14.2 ov)
3-93 (Shoaib Malik, 17.4 ov)
4-192 (Sarfraz Ahmed, 34.6 ov)
5-211 (Mohammad Rizwan, 39.1 ov)
6-239 (Babar Azam, 42.1 ov)
7-269 (Imad Wasim, 46.3 ov)
8-269 (Wahab Riaz, 46.4 ov)
9-281 (Mohammad Nawaz, 48.1 ov)

West Indies

West Indies began their chase in a sedate manner though Charles looked dangerous at times. However, Amir ensured he couldn't do any major damage as he had him caught behind for 20 with a good delivery bowling around the wicket. Brathwaite and Bravo formed a partnership but were far too sedate as Pakistan bowled tight lines. Hasan Ali came into the attack, getting Brathwaite caught behind with a good delivery. Bravo was next as he was bowled by Nawaz, who got the first of his 4 wickets. Ramdin was next as Azhar took an excellent diving catch while Pollard was also caught at point going for a big shot.

Holder became Imad's only victim of the match as he was bowled by a delivery that drifted in. Samuels and C. Brathwaite formed a short partnership that looked threatening but an exceptional delivery from Nawaz had the latter out, bowled. Samuels fell soon after that as Wahab castled his stumps. Narine and Benn had a short partnership which Wahab thought he had broken when he bowled an excellent yorker to disturb the stumps but it was a no-ball. However, Hasan Ali came on and took care of the tail. A cutter accounted for Narine as he tried going for a big shot, hitting it straight into the air while Gabriel was the last man to fall, bowled by another slower ball by Hasan.

Fall Of Wickets

1-27 (Charles, 7.4 ov)
2-41 (KC Brathwaite, 12.2 ov)
3-54 (Bravo, 16.6 ov)
4-89 (Ramdin, 23.2 ov)
5-99 (Pollard, 25.1 ov)
6-103 (Holder, 26.5 ov)
7-125 (CR Brathwaite, 30.4 ov)
8-135 (Samuels, 33.1 ov)
9-166 (Narine, 36.2 ov)
10-175 (Gabriel, 38.4 ov)

Match Summary:

A good win for Pakistan as they got their 4th consecutive win against a struggling West Indies. It looked like the ODI side's struggles might continue when Azhar was out first ball but a good innings by Sharjeel followed by an exceptional one by Babar and further contributions in the middle order ensured that Pakistan got to a good total. It must be said that West Indies were very poor; they seemed to lack motivation once the pressure was on and their top-order batting was simply too slow, killing the chase off quite early. Pakistan would be very pleased that the main contributors to this win were the youngsters. Babar Azam's hundred shows promising signs for Pakistan's future as he looks to have come off age.

Next Game:

2nd ODI at Sharjah, 2nd October, 11:00 GMT.

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