Catch the live updates of the World Cup match between West Indies and Pakistan at Trent Bridge here.
Jason Holder: Andre Russell is an impact player. He always gives a 100 % even if he is not fit. Oshane is a good young prospect. If we can stay fit, we can go all the way. Don’t want to get too ahead of ourselves.
Pakistan are now going through their worst run of defeats in ODI cricket. It’s their 11th in a row.
WEST INDIES WIN BY 7 WICKETS
Pooran hits the winning runs and it is a massive six over the deep mid-wicket fence. What a hit. Wahab Riaz once again goes for plenty. West Indies also get there with 36.2 overs to spare. Imagine what this win will do to their net run rate? West Indies were irresistible with the ball a and were on a mission with the bat.
West Indies 96/3 in 13 Overs| Pooran 24, Hetmyer 6
Just a five-run over as West Indies need just 10 to win. Good over from Hassan Ali, who bowled stump to stump and didn’t allow the batsmen to make room and hit across the line. One wonders what the reaction will be among fans back in Pakistan.
West Indies 91/3 in 12 Overs| Pooran 24, Hetmyer 1
Wahab Riaz is taken to the cleaners by Pooran. He gets a thick edge that runs to the fence at third man. He then lofts it down the ground and it’s a six over the long-on boundary.
WICKET! West Indies 77/3 in 10.5 Overs | C Gayle c S Khan b Amir 50 (34)
Gayle completes his fifty with a tickle on the leg-side but falls for the slower one. He skies one and it’s a simple take for Shadab Khan. The opener got a top-edge on that occasion. That’s a third for Amir.
West Indies 71/2 in 10 Overs | Gayle 49, Pooran 6
And...just like that, Gayle moves gears, hammering Wahab Riaz for a six and a couple of boundaries. However, there is bad news coming in. The veteran batsman is struggling with his back. He limped to the other end while completing a single.
West Indies 56/2 in 9 Overs | Gayle 35, Pooran 6
Gayle has gone off the boil, somewhat. Pooran gets a boundary with a pull off Amir, the ball beats mid-on’s chase. Pakistan must consider keeping a third slip for Amir, who is getting the ball to come back in.
WICKET! West Indies 46/2 in 6.2 Overs |D Bravo c Azam b Amir 0 (4)
Amir gets another. The ball came back into him sharply and the left-hander edges it to Azam at second slip. Vintage Amir delivery that but Pakistan still have an uphill task.
West Indies 46/1 in 6 Overs |Gayle 29, Bravo 0
Gayle continues to move his front foot out of the way and the boundaries keep coming. He carves one through gully and then slogs one over deep square. They are cruising.
WICKET! West Indies 36/1 in 4.3 Overs| S Hope c Hafeez b Amir 11(17)
And Pakistan have some respite. Hope tries to clear the infield and the ball hits high on his bat. Hafeez moves to his left and takes a well-judged catch at mid-off.
West Indies 32/0 in 4 Overs| Gayle 24, Hope 7
16 runs from the over. Two back-to-back sixes and Gayle is on the march. First, he goes over long on for a monster and then just about clears the ropes down the ground. Hassan Ali follows that up with a couple of well-directed short deliveries to Hope.
West Indies 16/0 in 3 Overs| Gayle 9, Hope 2
Hope miscues one and fortunately for him, it falls in no man’s land. The Pakistan fans get behind their team and make themselves head. One senses that an early wicket might open this game up.
West Indies 12/0 in 2 Over| Gayle 9, Hope 2
Gayle is not holding back and throws caution to the wind with two boundaries. First, he flicks one on the leg side and then gets a thick edge that reaches the third-man fence.
West Indies 2/0 in 1 Over| Gayle 1, Hope 1
Slow start for West Indies as both batsmen get a single each. Zaman hits the stumps at the non-striker’s end but Gayle was home. The seam was up from Amir.
Gayle and Shai Hope are at the crease. Amir has the ball in his hand.
This is Pakistan’s second lowest total in a World Cup. Thomas: “Andre Russell set it up for us with the two early wickets and we just tried to follow in his footsteps. We executed our plans well.”
Pakistan all out for 105
Thomas goes full and straight and Wahab Riaz misses. The ball crashes onto to the stumps. It was a brave little cameo from the returning pacer. Thomas lost a little bit of discipline towards the end, bowling a couple of no-balls. But he was immense, picking up four.
Wahab Riaz b Thomas 18(10)
Pakistan 103/9 in 21 Overs | Wahab Riaz 18, M Amir 2
17 from the over. Two sixes from the over. Wahab Riaz gives the Pakistan fans something to cheer about with a big six on the leg side. The balls sails into a packed stand filled with Pakistan fans. Wahab gets a four on the off-side and another short one also goes many rows back. He is throwing caution to the wind. Expensive over from Holder.
WICKET! Pakistan 83/9 in 19.3 Overs | M Hafeez c Cottrell b Thomas 16(24)
Thomas now picks up his third. Hafeez also struggles with the short ball and can’t keep the ball down. He skies it and Cottrell at fine leg runs in and takes a sharp catch. Nine down. The collapse continues and West Indies have ruthlessly exposed their opponent’s struggle with the short-pitched stuff.
WICKET! Pakistan 81/8 in 18.3 Overs | Hassan Ali c Cottrell b Holder 1(4)
Holder picks up his third and the short ball does the trick yet again. Wasim Akram can’t believe what is going on in the commentary box. Slightly back of a length from the West Indies captain and Ali’s pull goes only as far as mid off.
WICKET! Pakistan 78/7 in 17.3 Overs | Shadab Khan lbw b Thomas 0 (1)
The procession continues. Shadab Khan tries to play across the line and misses. The umpire has no hesitation in raising the finger and Thomas has two now. The Nottingham crowd, filed with Pakistan fans, are stunned into silence.
WICKET! Pakistan 77/6 in 17 Overs | I Wasim c Gayle b Holder 1 (3)
Make it another. Pakistan have worn a deer in headlights look with the short ball and Imad Wasim goes. The left-hander fends at it, gets a top edge and Gayle moves to his right from first slip to pluck the ball. Holder gets another and West Indies are running away with it.
WICKET! Pakistan 75/5 in 16.1 Overs | S Ahmed c Hope b Holder 8 (12)
Superb review from the West Indians, who are all over Pakistan. They now have half the side back in the hut. It was a wayward delivery on the leg side from Holder and Sarfaraz gets a tickle on it. The West Indies go upstairs straight away. Replays show a spike when the ball left Sarfaraz’s bat.
Pakistan 75/4 in 16 Overs (Sarfaraz 8, Hafeez 11)
The Pakistani fans let out a cheer after another bumper from Thomas. This time, though, it is called a wide. Don’t expect the West Indians to go easy on the short-pitched stuff. Hafeez adds to more to the total with a drive down the ground.
Pakistan 72/4 in 15 Overs (Sarfaraz 8, Hafeez 9)
The Pakistan fans express their displeasure at the short-pitched stuff that the batsmen have been peppered with. The ball sailed way over Hafeez’s head but the umpire refused to call it a wide. Just two from the Brathwaite over.
Pakistan 70/4 in 14 Overs (Sarfaraz 7, Hafeez 8)
Hafeez is off the mark with a boundary and he follows that up with another. Poor from Thomas there. He went short and wide and then drifted one on the leg-side.
WICKET! Pakistan 62/4 in 13.1 Overs | B Azam c Hope b Thomas 22(33)
Another one goes. Lose shot from Azam and Hope takes a blinder behind the stumps. The Pakistan batsman flays at it, gets a thick edge and Thomas strikes. The wickets continue to tumble and Pakistan are in deep trouble.
Pakistan 62/3 in 13 Overs (Babar 22, Sarfaraz 7)
Brathwaite is bending his back and West Indies are using the short ball judiciously. We have seen atleast one every over. Five singles from the over.
Pakistan 57/3 in 12 Overs (Babar 20, Sarfaraz 5)
Thomas does go short and and Babar is equal to the task, playing a couple of good-looking pull shots. Holder also has a short-leg in place. Seven from the over, which included a boundary.
Well, Oshane Thomas is into the attack.
Pakistan 50/3 in 11 Overs (Babar 13, Sarfaraz 4)
Dropped! Hetmyer drops a regulation chance at point. Babar jabbed at a short and wide delivery and that was spooned. The fielder got himself in an awkward position and Pakistan get away. West Indies will hope this doesn’t cost them. Five from the over. Brathwaite was the bowler.
WICKET! Pakistan 45/3 in 9.4 Overs | H Sohail c Hope b Russell 8(11)
Another one bites the dust and Russell is turning on the style with his golden arm. Haris received a snorter and could only managed to fend at it tentatively. He got an edge and the West Indies are up and away.
Pakistan 45/2 in 9 Overs | Azam 12, Haris 5
That was not a bad start for Brathwaite. The medium-pacer was slightly full but no width on offer. Just three singles from the over. West Indies are keeping the pressure on Pakistan.
Pakistan 42/2 in 8 Overs | Azam 12, Haris 5
Russell is cranking up some pace. Once again, the short ball continues to rattle the batsmen. Just four runs from his two overs so far.
Pakistan 40/2 in 7 Overs | Azam 11, Haris 4
Once again, Cottrell goes full and wide and Haris Sohail gets off the mark with a chip over the covers that reached the boundary. Just five from the over.
WICKET! Pakistan 35/2 in 5.4 Overs | F Zaman b Russell 22 (16)
Dream start for West Indies. Unfortunate for Zaman. A vicious short ball from Russell saw the the left-hander pull at it. The ball hit his gloves, clips the helmet and hits the stumps. Trouble for Pakistan.
Andre Russell comes on. Holder is shuffling his bowlers around.
Pakistan 33/1 in 5 Overs (Zaman 21, Babar 9)
Zaman gets his second boundary. Cottrell follows up on a good delivery with an ordinary one. It’s important for Pakistan to not get bogged down in the middle. Babar has got off to a good start.
Pakistan 27/1 in 4 Overs
Zaman is looking good. Holder continues to struggle for rhythm and Pakistan continue to chip away. The left-hander, this time, drives on the up and gets more runs. Babar ends the over with a three after playing a lovely flick on the rise.
WICKET! Pakistan 17/1 in 3 Overs | Imam ul Haq c Hope b Cottrell 2 (11)
And, out comes the salute. That was a soft dismissal and it’s a big blow for Pakistan. The ball was angled down leg and the left-hander gets a feather touch. Hope makes no mistake.
Pakistan 11/0 in 2 Overs
SIX! Over-pitched from Holder and it’s flicked away over the fence. That was easy picking. Should he have opened with Thomas? Pakistan are up and away.
Jason Holder to bowl the second over.
Pakistan 1/0 in 1 Over
Fine over. Wide to start proceedings. Cottrell gets a bit of shape in the third ball of the over and follows that up with another jaffa in the fifth ball of the over, Imam is forced to take rearguard action. The over ends with a yorker.
Fakhar Zaman and Imam-ul-Haq make their way to the crease. Imam to take strike. Sheldon Cottrell has the ball in his hand.
2:50 pm: The national anthems are underway
2:40 pm: Pakistan have won just nine of out of the 32 ODIs they have they have played since their Champions Trophy win. In their last 11 matches, they have lost 10.
TeamsHope
Pakistan: Imam-ul-Haq, Fakhar Zaman, Babar Azam, Haris Sohail, Mohammad Hafeez, Sarfaraz Ahmed (c), Imad Wasim, Shadab Khan, Hasan Ali, Wahab Riaz, Mohammad Amir
West Indies: Chris Gayle, Shai Hope(w), Darren Bravo, Shimron Hetmyer, Nicholas Pooran, Andre Russell, Jason Holder (c), Carlos Brathwaite, Ashley Nurse, Sheldon Cottrell, Oshane Thomas
“Would have liked to field first as well,” says Sarfaraz Ahmed. Mohammad Amir and Wahab Riaz are in for Pakistan.
“I don’t think conditions are going to change much. We had a good camp and two decent warm-up matches. Evin Lewis and Shannon Gabriel are not fit. We’ve left out Allen and Roach.”
TOSS: West Indies have won the toss and opt to field
West Indies vs Pakistan, the unpredictables vs the unpredictables... on their day, they can beat any side but the bigger question will always be whether it is their day or not.
Pakistan will be looking to channel the same spirit that won them the Champions Trophy.
West Indies and Pakistan are not favourites for this year’s World Cup but with an unpredictability factor both sides possess enough talent in their ranks and are capable of beating the bigger teams. Hoping to build on their 2017 Champions Trophy success in England two years ago, Sarfaraz Ahmed and Co face an uphill task against a resurgent Windies side in their opening match.
Leading to the quadrennial event, Pakistan have lost their previous ten one-day internationals that comprised of a 5-0 whitewash by Australia in UAE and 4-0 thrashing by England. The loss against outsiders Afghanistan further piled misery to their woes.
Pakistan have come out on top in only three out of 10 World Cup matches against the two-time world champions. Windies, packed with power-hitters in the squad and a vibrant squad will be raring to start their campaign on a bright note.