Hosts chased down target of 300+ for the first time in ODIs, getting to 309 with four wickets and an over to spare.

By Abdullah Ansari (7th April, 2017)

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

Teams:

West Indies: E Lewis, CAK Walton, KOA Powell, SD Hope†, JN Mohammed, JL Carter, JO Holder*, AR Nurse, D Bishoo, ST Gabriel, AS Joseph

Pakistan: Ahmed Shehzad, Kamran Akmal, Mohammad Hafeez, Babar Azam, Sarfraz Ahmed*†, Shoaib Malik, Imad Wasim, Shadab Khan, Mohammad Amir, Wahab Riaz, Hasan Ali

Pakistan Innings

Pakistan were put in to bat by Holder with the only changes being Hafeez and Amir replacing Fakhar and Rumman. Shehzad was initially circumspect though Kamran went after the bowling, with Gabriel's initial spell going for many runs. Part-timer Jason Mohammed was brought into the attack early but Kamran offered no respite - after an early maiden, the batsman went after him. Shehzad also batted at a relatively good rate as Pakistan kept up the run-rate at around 6 in the first 14 overs. However, Kamran fell for 47 in the 15th and the innings came to a standstill with the arrival of Hafeez. He hit one six off Bishoo but faced a slew of dots as the pressure mounted. Shehzad got to his fifty and accelerated but fell soon after for 67, the first of four victims for Nurse.

Hafeez's struggle continued while Babar wasn't able to get going straight away as the two batsmen failed to up the tempo. The run-rate dipped below five at one moment and Babar was dismissed as he swept the ball off Nurse straight to Joseph. Hafeez got going straight after the dismissal with three fours and a six in the next two overs while Malik also began to get a move on as a fifty partnership was raised in quick time. The two ended up putting on 89 off just 56 balls before Hafeez fell, caught in the deep off Nurse for 88 off 92 balls. Malik hit a few boundaries to get to his fifty off 36 balls but was soon dismissed for 53. Sarfraz finished with a couple of boundaries as Pakistan ended at 308/5.

Fall Of Wickets

1-85 (Kamran Akmal, 14.6 ov)
2-149 (Ahmed Shehzad, 27.5 ov)
3-177 (Babar Azam, 35.5 ov)
4-266 (Mohammad Hafeez, 45.1 ov)
5-284 (Shoaib Malik, 47.1 ov)

West Indies Innings

The chase began with Walton and Lewis getting away a couple of boundaries. A LBW shout by Amir was turned down while Hasan almost had one caught behind. However, Amir struck in the fifth over as Walton hit one straight to mid-off. Hafeez and Malik were brought into the attack against the two left-handers as pressure mounted with a prolonged period of slow scoring. Wahab bowled a couple of overs in the midst which were expensive. However, the pressure from the spinners paid off as Lewis fell to Hafeez for 47 as he was bowled trying to cut a shorter length delivery. Powell who had been painstakingly slow until then finally began to get some shots away, bringing up a fifty off 77 balls.

Just as Powell was looking good, Wahab returned to the attack and had him caught with a slower delivery which the batsman chipped to mid-off. Shadab joined in next over as Hope was dismissed, stumped for 24. West Indies needed 150 off the last 16 overs when Carter and Jason Mohammed came together. The latter straight away began aggressively, hitting regular boundaries off the pacers in particular. Imad came into the attack and was dispatched straight away for a couple of boundaries as Pakistan started feeling the pressure. The required rate was still around 10 an over but Jason Mohammed didn't back down, taking 15 off a Hasan over. Carter fell, caught at third man off Amir while Shadab bowled a tight over with the required rate again going above 10 once again. However, Jason Mohammed delivered with 17 off Amir's over. Shadab dismissed Holder but the new man Nurse didn't hold back with a couple of boundaries off Wahab straight away. The equation was brought down to 32 off 24 and the two batsmen didn't waste any time, finishing well, with an over to spare as Jason Mohammed remained not out on 91 off 58.

Fall Of Wickets

1-23 (Walton, 4.3 ov)
2-91 (Lewis, 21.4 ov)
3-156 (Powell, 32.1 ov)
4-158 (Hope, 33.4 ov)
5-228 (Carter, 41.3 ov)
6-259 (Holder, 44.3 ov)

Match Summary:

A massive win for West Indies in the context of World Cup qualification. Pakistan may have been disappointed with the batting, with the momentum being sucked out in the middle overs after a good start but they finished quite well and were well on top at one point in the chase despite not picking up wickets regularly. With around 10 an over needed off the last 15 overs, the visiting team would have felt the match was in their grasp but Jason Mohammed had other ideas and was ably supported by Nurse at the end as the home side pulled off a heist to complete their first chase of a target in excess of 300.

Next match: 2nd ODI on Sunday, 9th April.

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