Debutant Hasan Nawaz and Hussain Talat, playing only his second ODI, produced a match-winning Pakistan 104-Run Partnership to help Pakistan beat West Indies by five wickets in the first ODI at Tarouba. With this win, Pakistan took a 1-0 lead in the three-match series.
Chasing 281, Pakistan reached the target in the 49th over. Nawaz remained unbeaten on 63 while Talat scored 41 not out from 37 balls. Earlier, West Indies posted 280 with three players scoring half-centuries, but Pakistan’s spinners slowed them down. Shaheen Shah Afridi (4/51) and Naseem Shah (3/55) finished the innings strongly, setting the stage for the decisive Pakistan 104-Run Partnership later in the game.
West Indies Start Well but Lose Momentum
West Indies were asked to bat first in slightly tricky conditions. After losing an early wicket, Evin Lewis and Keacy Carty built a solid 77-run stand in the powerplay. Afridi and Naseem could not get much swing early, so Pakistan introduced spin in the eighth over with Saim Ayub, a move that would later set the tone for the game and eventually pave the way for the match-winning Pakistan 104-Run Partnership.
The pitch offered grip, and Pakistan’s spinners, Ayub, Salman Ali Agha, and Sufiyan Muqim, kept things tight. Over the next 27 overs, only one over of pace was bowled. This slowed West Indies’ scoring rate from six runs per over to under five.
Lewis reached his half-century with a six and four off Faheem Ashraf but fell soon after for 60, caught brilliantly by Shaheen off Ayub’s bowling. Sherfane Rutherford also failed to get going, giving a catch to cover.
Roston Chase (53) and Shai Hope (55) added 64 for the fifth wicket, but the run rate kept dropping. Once Pakistan’s pacers returned with reverse swing after the 34th over, wickets fell quickly. Chase holed out to Naseem soon after reaching his fifty, and the tail had no answers to Shaheen and Naseem’s yorkers. West Indies were bowled out in the final over for 280, a total that would later be chased down thanks to the Pakistan 104-Run Partnership.
READ MORE:
Pakistan’s Chase — A Nervy Start and a Calm Finish
Pakistan’s chase began with early trouble. In-form opener Saim Ayub edged Jayden Seales behind in the third over. Babar Azam and Abdullah Shafique tried to steady the innings, but Shafique fell to Shamar Joseph after looking good.
Babar (47) and Mohammad Rizwan (53) then played a slow third-wicket stand. At one stage, they played 16 dot balls in a row, causing the required rate to rise above six. Eventually, they found boundaries and rotated strike better, but Babar’s attempt to attack spinner Gudakesh Motie led to his dismissal three runs short of fifty.
Salman Ali Agha came in with an aggressive approach but gifted his wicket to Roston Chase. Rizwan brought up his half-century but was trapped lbw by Joseph with 101 runs still needed. At that point, West Indies sensed victory as Pakistan’s lower order was exposed, until the Pakistan 104-Run Partnership changed everything.
Hasan Nawaz and Hussain Talat, with just one ODI between them before this match, took control under pressure. Nawaz started slowly, scoring just 3 runs from his first 12 balls, and survived two dropped catches, one by Shai Hope and another later by Motie.
The turning point came in the 39th over when dew made it hard for bowlers to grip the ball. Talat hit two boundaries off Chase, and then a loose over from Joseph included five wides and cost 17 runs, bringing the required rate down to just above seven. This crucial moment fueled the Pakistan 104-Run Partnership and shifted the momentum firmly in Pakistan’s favor.
From there, both batsmen kept finding boundaries whenever pressure built. In the 46th over, Motie dropped a simple catch off Nawaz when he was on 49. Seales could only watch in disbelief as the chance went begging. Talat then smashed 15 runs in the next over, and Nawaz reached his maiden ODI fifty, completing yet another milestone in the Pakistan 104-Run Partnership.
With just a few runs left, Pakistan crossed the target with seven balls to spare. Nawaz’s unbeaten 63 and Talat’s composed 41 were the highlight of the innings, and the Pakistan 104-Run Partnership stood out as the match-winning stand that took the visitors over the line.
SEE MORE:
