Pakistan, West Indies lock horns in first T20 today

DUBAI (92 News) – Pakistan and West Indies will today (Friday) lock horns for the first Twenty20 (T20) of the three-T20 series with the first match being played at Abu Dhabi, Dubai. Both the teams will be itching to make a good start which will be followed by three One-Day Internationals (ODIs) and a three-Test series. Pakistan and West Indies last appearance was in the shortest format which was three to four weeks back. The long break will pose as a challenge but being two strong T20I sides, Pakistan and West Indies will be confident taking on the field. The Windies are also missing flamboyant big-hitter Chris Gayle, who complains of injury problems and makes only sporadic appearances for his country. Gayle also missed the West Indies` one-run Twenty20 win over India in Florida last month, while Russell will front a hearing into claims he missed three drugs tests in a 12-month period, an offence which could trigger a two-year ban. It is not a hidden fact that Pakistan depend on their bowlers to win them matches and it will be a grueling contest when they will take on West Indies’ power hitters. There is no such player in the West Indies camp who is afraid of going after the opposition and the hosts will be wary of it.  The focus from Pakistan will be on Sohail Tanvir, Imad Wasim, Mohammad Aamer and Wahab Riaz. The decisive factor will be how Pakistan fares in the middle-overs. This will pretty much decide the outcome of the match. In fielding department, West Indies are more acrobatic and livewire on the field and Pakistan will have to tighten their socks. Overall, Pakistan are far from being a solid team in ODIs but have enjoyed good success in the most unpredictable and shortest format of the game. In head-to-head encounters, both teams are tied at 2-2 which makes the contest even more riveting.   Squads: Pakistan: Sharjeel Khan, Khalid Latif, Babar Azam, Wahab Riaz, Sohail Tanvir, Mohammad Nawaz, Shoaib Malik, Imad Wasim, Mohammad Rizwan, Mohammad Aamer, Hasan Ali, Umar Akmal, Sarfraz Ahmed(c&wk), Rumman Raees, Saad Nasim West Indies: Carlos Brathwaite(c), Samuel Badree, Dwayne Bravo, Johnson Charles (wk), Andre Fletcher, Jason Holder, Evin Lewis, Sunil Narine, Kieron Pollard, Nicholas Pooran, Rovman Powell, Kesrick Williams, Marlon Samuels, Jerome Taylor, Chadwick Walton