LAHORE – The first T20I match between Pakistan and West Indies was cancelled due to rain at the Kensington Oval, Bridgetown, Barbados on Wednesday.
Earlier, West Indies gave a target of 86 runs to visiting Pakistan while playing their innings of the rain-shortened contest.
Earlier, the men in Green Shirts won the toss and opted to bowl first but the match was delayed by rain.
As the match started with Duckworth/Lewis method, Pakistani bowler Hasan Ali removed the opening batsman Evin Lewis at 6 runs in 2.1 overs. He also dismissed Shimron Hetmyer (5).
No other player except Kieron crossed 20-run mark as he made 22 runs, helping the team to post 86-run target.
Mohammad Wasim Jr also claimed its maiden T20I wicket as he removed Chris Gayle (7).
19-year-old seamer Mohammad Wasim Jnr becomes Pakistan’s 94th player in men’s T20Is 👏#WIvPAK pic.twitter.com/nYV59DOoZq
— ICC (@ICC) July 28, 2021
This is the sixth bilateral T20I series between the two teams, Pakistan have dominated the West Indies with wins in four out of the previous five T20I series.
West Indies won the one-off T20I match between the two sides in 2011, Pakistan have held the upper hand since. Overall, out of 14 T20I matches, Pakistan have maintained a stranglehold with 11 wins and a mere three defeats. Of these, seven matches have been staged in the West Indies, with Pakistan winning five and losing two.
In the 2018, T20I series that was staged at the National Stadium Karachi, Pakistan won the three-match series, 3-0.
The last time the two teams played a T20I series on the Caribbean soil was in 2017 with the visitors winning the four-match series 3-1.
In the latest ICC Men’s T20I Team Rankings, Pakistan are placed at the fourth-spot with 261 points while the Kieron Pollard led West Indies are placed seventh with 235 points.
In case of a clean sweep victory, Pakistan will jump to the third-spot with 263 points.
Amongst the batters, Pakistan captain Babar Azam is currently ranked number two while his opening partner, wicketkeeper-batsman Mohammad Rizwan is ranked seventh. West Indies’ opener Evin Lewis is at number eight.
Fabian Allen, the West Indian left-arm-spinner is ranked number 10 among bowlers while Pakistan left-arm-fast Shaheen Shah Afridi is at the number 13 spot in the rankings for T20I bowlers.
Will Perform Better, says Babar Azam
Babar Azam has expressed his side is all set to take on T20 world champions the West Indies in the four-match T20I series commencing tomorrow.
While talking to the media in a virtual media conference today ahead of the T20I series the batting ace backed his players to perform well in the series. He said, “We have a good record against West Indies. The conditions are different to England and hopefully good results will come for us in the series.”
When asked to comment on the bowlers’ performance on the England tour, the right-handed batsman said, “We have experienced bowlers in the likes of Hasan Ali, Shaheen Shah. They have performed well in the past and I am hopeful they will bounce back strong. Haris Rauf is a match winner for us, he has worked on his bowling and you will see him good in the series.”
