Pakistan vs West Indies, 1st ODI: Match Preview, Head to Head, Playing XI and Broadcast Details

Pakistan is all set to take on the West Indies for a three-match ODI series starting June 8 (Wednesday) and all the three games will be played at the Multan Cricket Stadium in Pakistan. The ODI series was originally scheduled in December 2021 post the T20I series, when the two teams last met, but was postponed due to the Covid-19 situation in the camps.

The West Indies are coming off of a 3-0 series win against the Netherlands. Nicholas Pooran had a great start to his captaincy campaign. He was named the skipper of the side after former captain Kieron Pollard decided to retire from international cricket. The Caribbean side will be looking to carry their momentum from their previous series when they start their Pakistan tour.

With 167 runs at an average of 83.5, Shamarh Brooks finished second in the run charts of the recently concluded ODI series against the Dutch. Shai Hope and Brandon King were also commendable with the bat as they added 161 and 159 runs respectively in the three ODIs. In terms of their bowling attack, Akeal Hosein was the standout player with a total of eight wickets, which also included a four-wicket haul.

Pakistan last played Australia at home for a full-fledged series involving three Tests, three ODIs and a T20I. While they lost the Test series and T20I against the visitors, they managed to clinch the ODI series by 2-1. Their previous squad of 21 members has been cut down to 16 this time for the Caribbean series.

With back-to-back hundreds, Imam-ul-Haq was Pakistan’s leading scorer in their most recent ODI series against Australia, with 298 runs at an average of 149 and a strike rate over 100. Skipper Babar Azam put up a good fight and was seen in great form as he smacked 276 runs. Speaking of their bowling department, Shaheen Afridi bagged six wickets in just two games against Australia to emerge as the standout player.

Pitch Report

The Multan Cricket Stadium in Pakistan will assist the batters and bowlers equally. The highest score at this pitch was recorded by the home team when they faced Bangladesh and scored 323 runs, the only time that the stadium witnessed a 300+ score. The captain winning the toss would look to chase.

Playing Combinations for PAK vs WI

Pakistan

Openers Fakhar Zaman and Imam-ul-Haq will be expected to be in top form, alongside skipper Babar Azam. The strong top-order lineup will look to put a high total with the bowlers doing their job of restricting Windies.

Playing XI: Fakhar Zaman, Imam-ul-Haq, Babar Azam (c), Saud Shakeel, Mohammad Rizwan (wk), Iftikhar Ahmed, Shadab Khan, Mohammad Nawaz, Hasan Ali, Shaheen Afridi, Haris Rauf

West Indies

Shai Hope and Shamarh Brooks will look to give a kick start to the team’s innings, with Nicholas Pooran and Brandon King handling the work in the middle order. The bowlers had a good outing recently, especially Hosein and they will look to overpower Pakistan’s strong lineup.

Predicted Playing XI: Shai Hope (wk), Shamarh Brooks, Nkrumah Bonner, Nicholas Pooran (c), Brandon King, Rovman Powell, Kyle Mayers, Alzarri Joseph, Hayden Walsh, Akeal Hosein, Sherfane Rutherford

PAK vs WI Head to Head

Played- 134 | Pakistan- 60 | West Indies- 71 | Tied- 3

PAK vs WI Broadcast Details

Match Timings- 4:30 PM IST

TV- Sony Sports Network

Live Streaming- SonyLiv