WI vs PAK 2025, 1st T20I Review: Visitors 1-0 up as Saim Ayub shines in series-opener | CricTracker

Pakistan secured a 14-run victory in the first T20I of the three-match series to kickstart their 2025 tour of West Indies on a positive note. The hosts suffered their sixth consecutive defeat in the shortest format of the game after getting whitewashed by Australia in the recently-concluded five-match series.

Being asked to bat first, the Men in Green got off to quite a lively start, with 26 being scored off the first three overs. Windies pacer Shamar Joseph struck with the second ball of his spell to get rid of Sahibzada Farhan (14 off 12) by trapping him in front, conceding only a run to start off. Boundaries were regular as the visitors were 83 for 1 halfway through the innings.

Saim Ayub brought up his second half-century in T20 internationals in the same over in which he struck his first couple of maximums. He, however, did not last longer at the crease thereafter, falling at 57 off 38 deliveries. Just as Fakhar Zaman seemed to accelerate from his slow start, he perished for 28 off 24. The innings got a bit of a boost after 10 runs were scored in each of the 15th and 16th overs.

Akeal Hosein secured his first breakthrough in his final over in the form of Hasan Nawaz (24 off 18). West Indies did quite well to restrict Pakistan to a sub-200 total. At one point, it seemed as if they would get to that. However, some accurate bowling in the death overs meant Agha Salman-led side could score only 178/6.

Caribbeans’ sedated start marred with collapses

The Caribbean openers scored one more run than the opposition inside the first six overs, without losing any wicket. The next four overs were contrary to the powerplay phase. Pakistan applied the squeeze on the Men in Maroon courtesy of some tight bowling. There were no boundaries which were scored for four overs since the powerplay as the required run-rate climbed to 11.60 with ten overs to go.

Known for his assertive brand of cricket with the bat, Johnson Charles had played an uncharacteristically subdued innings by the 10-over mark, scoring only 26* off 30. Despite a six being hit off the final ball of Sufiyan Muqeem’s third over, there was still a lot to do for West Indies in order to even come close, and remain well and truly in the competition.

The entire complexion of the match changed in the 12th over of the run-chase, bowled by Mohammad Nawaz. His triple-strikes to dismiss the opening batters and Gudakesh Motie (0 off 1) absolutely derailed the Shai Hope-led unit’s effort. Ayub could do no wrong, as he struck in his first over to get rid of the Caribbean captain for a paltry score of just 2 from three deliveries.

Late blows from Holder-Shamar

Ayub’s second wicket was that of Sherfane Rutherford, who headed back after a run-a-ball 11. Shaheen Shah Afridi and Muqeem picked up their first wickets of the evening in the 16th and 17th overs, respectively. West Indies’ chase was going nowhere. They required 65 off the last three overs with only three wickets in the tank.

Jason Holder and Shamar tried their level best clubbing the ball to and over the ropes, but it was all a case of ‘too little, too late’. Both of them aggregated a total of 51 off just 24. However, the collapse during the middle phase had a left a bit too much to do for the back end of the innings, as the visiting side gained a 1-0 lead in the three-match series. The next game will now be played on Sunday, and the hosts would want to stage a comeback with series on the line.

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