Pakistan Go 1–0 Up with 5-Wicket Win
Shakeel-ur-Rehman
Pakistan defeated the hosts West Indies by 5 wickets in the first match of the three-match ODI series at the Brian Lara Stadium in Trinidad to take a 0-1 lead in the series.
Thanks to the unbeaten innings of 63 runs by Hassan Nawaz, who played his first match, Pakistan completed the target and took a 0-1 lead. Hussain Talat, who made a comeback to the team after six years, fully supported Hassan Nawaz in the sixth wicket partnership and scored 104 runs in the sixth wicket partnership. Hussain Talat remained unbeaten on 41 runs. It should be noted that Hussain Talat’s debut in one-day matches was on January 22, 2019 against South Africa. In this match, Hussain Talat scored two runs, after which the doors of international matches were closed to him. And six years later, he was given a chance again against the West Indies, in which it was sad to see his performance that six years of this talented player were wasted. On the other hand, Hassan Nawaz, who played his first one-day match, scored 63 runs off 54 balls and won the Man of the Match award. His innings included five fours and three sixes. Pakistan’s innings against the West Indies In response to the target of 281 runs, Pakistan did not start well, opener Saim Ayub was dismissed for just 5 runs.
After the fall of the first wicket, Abdullah Shafiq and Babar Azam batted responsibly and took the team’s score forward, but then Abdullah shafiq returned to the pavilion after scoring 29 runs. After this, Babar also got out after scoring 47 runs. Babar Azam’s innings included five fours and a six. The partnership between the two for the third wicket was 55 runs.
Captain Muhammad Rizwan also scored a half-century and got out for 53 runs. Which included four fours. After the fall of 5 wickets, young Hassan Nawaz and Hussain Talat batted responsibly and achieved the target in the 49th over and brought the team victory. Hassan Nawaz was unbeaten with 63 and Hussain Talat scored 41 runs. Debutant Hassan Nawaz played an unbeaten innings of 63 runs while batting brilliantly, while Hussain Talat scored 41 runs. Pakistan achieved the target of 281 runs in the 49th over for the loss of 5 wickets. Before the match, team manager Naveed Akram Cheema gave Hassan Nawaz his ODI debut cap.
For the West Indies, Shamar Joseph took 2 wickets, while Sales, Moti and Roston Chase took one wicket each.
In the match played in Trinidad, Pakistan won the toss and decided to field first. The West Indies team was bowled out for 280 runs in 49 overs. Evin Lewis scored 60, captain Shai Hope scored 55 and Roston Chase scored 53 runs. For Pakistan, Shaheen Shah Afridi bowled brilliantly and took 4 wickets, Naseem Shah took 3 while Saim Ayub, Sufyan Muqim and Salman Agha took one wicket each.
