KARACHI: Pakistan comfortably overpowered the visitors West Indies in the first T20I of the three-match series. The home side won the game by 63 runs, bowling out the opposition for 137.
Pakistan were put into bat first after West Indies won the toss. The visitors instantly made good use of the toss and dismissed the star batter and Pakistan captain Babar Azam on the fourth ball of the innings. Mohammad Rizwan, however, scored yet another scintillating half-century, albeit with some respite from the West Indian fielders.
But, it was Haider Ali who set the stage on fire and scored 68 off 39, hitting six fours and four sixes. The impetus in the Pakistan innings was provided towards the end by Mohammad Nawaz who scored 30 off 10 and remained not out.
West Indies, in reply, had no answer to the brilliance of Pakistan bowlers and kept losing wickets. By the time the powerplay ended, West Indies had already lost three of their top four batters. Despite some late hitting by lower-middle order, West Indies ended up losing the game by 63 runs. For Pakistan, Mohammad Wasim Jr picked four wickets for 40, followed by Shadab Khan with 3, and Shaheen Afridi, Nawaz, and Haris Rauf picking up one wicket each.
Haider was named the Player of the Match for his superb knock.