Pakistan Sweats Out Win in First ODI

Pakistan sweated to a victory over a West Indies team they were expected to beat convincingly in the first of three one-day matches in the Emirates.

Waqar Younis's side had earlier limited the West Indies to 190 all out after successfully weathering Chris Gayle's blazing 50 at the start of the match. ( AUDIO REPORT)

But they slumped to 15-3 before establishing a few decent partnerships and in the end the Caribbean men's efforts were not quite enough.

After Carl Hooper won the toss and elected to bat, left-handed Gayle looked in fine nick from the off.
But he lost his first two partners cheaply.

The first wicket to fall was Daren Ganga's. He trod on his own stumps when playing back to Waqar to depart the scene for 15.

The next man out was Wavell Hinds, Shoaib Akhtar striking in his first over with Hinds gone for 14.

Gayle went on to a rapid 50 off 52 balls, hitting 10 fours along the way. But then, facing the 53rd ball of his innings, he chopped Abdur Razzaq onto his own stumps.

Shivnarine Chanderpaul chipped straight to mid-wicket in the same Razzaq over for a two-ball duck, and things looked ropey when Ryan Hinds was run out for eight.

Captain Carl Hooper and Ridley Jacobs put on a painstaking 44 for the sixth wicket.

But Hooper eventually fell lbw to slow bowler Shahid Afridi for 45 and there was precious little resistance from then on.

In reply, Naved Latif, Younis Khan and Inzamam-ul-Haq all went cheaply early on.

But Shahid Afridi stayed to hit an unusually watchful 35 in an important partnership of 47 with Yousuf Youhana for the fourth wicket.

Then Youhana (39), Rashid Latif (47) and Abdur Razzaq (46 not out off 41 balls) showed Pakistan's depth of batting as they steered their side home.

Hooper was the only West Indian bowler to take more than one wicket, finishing with 2-44 off his allotted 10 overs.

* SOURCE: BBC Sports Online.