World Cup 2019: West Indies demolish Pakistan for winning start

Oshane Thomas starred with the ball while Chris Gayle top-scored with a quick fifty as the West Indies cruised to a comfortable seven-wicket win in their World Cup 2019 opener against Pakistan.

Oshane Thomas starred with the ball while Chris Gayle top-scored with a quick fifty as the West Indies cruised to a comfortable seven-wicket win in their World Cup 2019 opener against Pakistan.

Thomas finished with four for 27 while Jason Holder 3-42 and Andre Russell 2-4 shared the spoils as Pakistan, sent in to bat, were demolished at 105 all out in just 21.4 overs. Opener Fakhar Zaman and Babar Azam were the joint top-scorers with 22 each in an abysmal display of batting.

In reply, it took West Indies raced to their target in 13.4 overs to hand Pakistan their 11th ODI defeat in a row – their longest losing streak in this format.

Toss: West Indies won the toss and sent Pakistan in to bat first.

First innings: Sheldon Cottrell gave Pakistan the first blow removing Imam ul Haq (2) in the third over. Andre Russell then added to Pakistan’s worry by bowling out Fakhar Zaman (22), who was looking in fine touch, in the sixth over. The medium pacer struck again in the tenth over scalping Haris Sohail (8). Oshane Thomas then joined the party in the 14th over scalping Babar Azam (22). Holder then removed skipper Sarfaraz Ahmed, Imad Wasim, and Hasan Ali in the space of nine balls for just three runs. S Some late hitting from Riaz took Pakistan over the 100-mark but the target remained too small for the Caribbean side.

Second innings: Riding on a superb show by the bowlers and a brisk half-ton by Chris Gayle, West Indies thrashed Pakistan by seven wickets in their opening World Cup match at Trent Bridge. Mohammad Amir remained the only positive for Pakistan in the game who took three wickets.

Gamechanger: Andre Russell’ impactful economical spell proved to be the gamechanger of the match. The man finding least swing, Russell, bowled almost exclusively short balls, charging in. Today was only the second time in Andre Russell’s career that he’s taken two wickets in the first 10 overs.

Captain’s Speak:

Jason Holder, West Indies captain: “Got off to a really good start. Got wickets with the new ball which is what we ask of the guys. Russell is an impact player. Really good to see the impact he had today, followed by Oshane Thomas. Sheldon (Cottrell) started really well for us. Credit to the boys who stuck to the task.”

Sarfaraz Ahmed, Pakistan captain: “If you lose the toss in these conditions, and lose wickets, it’s hard to come back into the game. Have to play positive cricket here. Didn’t do well as a batting unit today. We know they’re going to come hard with their pace bowlers. We didn’t play well against the short ball. Today was a bad day. Confident my team will bounce back. Good to see Amir bowling well. Always good support here in England.”

Scorecard: PAK 105 (21.4) | WI 108/3 (13.4)

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