Pakistan v West Indies, 1st ODI, Preview: Men in Green start as favorites

Pakistan was clearly the dominant team in the recently concluded T20 series where they clean swept the World Champions West Indies. The Men in Green had a terrible time when they came out in the 50 overs format time last time, trailing 4-0 before winning the last game. The confidence, however, is back now. The buoyant Pakistan now look like a completely different team.

West Indies must move on from the embarrassment they faced in the T20I series. An atypical sense of disbelief might have crept in their minds. They are no used to get floored like in the T20 format.

The Pakistan spinners were simply too good for them. But, getting suppressed by this burden will only cause more problems. The ODI series will act as a practice for the more challenging test series. Therefore, the Calypso Kings will have to regroup and look forward to creating an impact in the ODIs.

Pakistan:

Pakistan will see a change in leadership as Azhar Ali returns to the side as the skipper. The series is of greater importance for the Men in Green. It is not just about ODI revival. A clean sweep in the ODIs will see them automatically qualify for the World Cup 2019. If they fail to do so, then they might see themselves fighting for places in the qualifiers.

Coming to the team combination, the batting order has not seen much of a shuffle. Khalid Latif will not appear and Sharjeel Khan will most likely appear with Babar Azam on the top. Asad Shafiq, who made a century when he last played for Pakistan in the fourth test against England, adds more strength to the top order.

The fast bowling department looks formidable. Azhar Ali has good options to choose with Rahat Ali, Mohammad Amir, Wahab Riaz, Hasan Ali and Sohail Khan forming the attack. Imad Wasim has become the rock star of the team. His threat will continue to loom over the heads of the Windies.

The pitches and conditions remain the same and Wasim will be Pakistan’s main weapon. Leg-spinner Yasir Shah, missed the T20I series, returns to the ODI squad and will form a good spin team with Wasim. This will also be a good chance for him to improve his limited-overs credentials.

Probable XI:

Sharjeel Khan, Khalid Latif, Azhar Ali (C), Asad Shafiq, Shoaib Malik, Sarfraz Khan (WK), Imad Wasim, Yasir Shah, Mohammad Amir, Wahab Riaz, Sohail Khan

West Indies:

West Indies has the same danger lurking around the corner ahead of the ODI series. As Jeff Dujon said a couple of days ago, it will be a “terrible embarrassment if West Indies were unable to qualify automatically for the 2019 World Cup.”

They will have to perform better than Pakistan which means winning the series by at least a margin of 2-1 of 2-0 to remain at number eight and qualify automatically for the World Cup 2019.

Skipper Jason Holder should make sure that energy levels in the player remain high. All-rounders Kieron Pollard, Carlos Brathwaite and Dwayne Bravo will be the key roles to play. Pakistan batting has the tendency to crumble down and they probably try to exploit the weakness.

Probable XI:

Johnson Charles, Kraigg Brathwaite/Evin Lewis, Marlon Samuels, Kieron Pollard, Denesh Ramdin (WK), Dwayne Bravo, Carlos Brathwaite, Jason Holder (C), Sunil Narine, Shannon Gabriel, Alzzari Joseph

Match details:

Date: September 30, 2016

Venue: Sharjah Cricket Stadium, UAE

Time: 15:00 local (11:00 GMT)

Stats:

• Umar Akmal needs 87 runs to complete 3000 ODI runs Kieron Pollard need 1 more wicket to complete 50 wickets in ODIs
• Dwayne Bravo has taken 199 wickets and needs 1 more to become the third West Indian player to reach the 200 wickets milestone
• Wahab Riaz has taken 95 wickets and needs 5 more to reach the 100 wickets milestone.
• Kieran Pollard has taken 49 wickets and needs 1 more to reach the 50 wickets milestone, and also the 1,000 Runs/50 wickets/50 catches milestone.