Rain forced an early end to West Indies’ first Twenty20 against Pakistan with no result on Wednesday despite the game being reduced to nine overs per side.
West Indies had reached 85-5 off their nine overs before umpires abandoned the game with rain persistently falling at the Kensington Oval.
West Indies, loaded with power-hitters, couldn’t get the tempo after the game was shortened as Pakistan won the toss and elected to field first.
Lendl Simmons (9) had to retire hurt in only the second over of the innings after being hit on the left side of the neck by debutant fast bowler Mohammad Wasim’s short-pitched delivery.
Fast bowler Hasan Ali (2-11) had Evin Lewis caught at mid-on off his first delivery and Nicholas Pooran (13) smashed Mohammad Hafeez for two sixes before ballooning an easy catch to point off the off-spinner.
The two experienced power-hitters -- Andre Russell and Chris Gayle -- also couldn’t make an impact against the variations of Pakistan spin and pace.
Russell smashed leg-spinner, Usman Qadir, for a six over extra cover in the sixth over before getting a thick edge to wicketkeeper Mohammad Rizwan in the same over.
Wasim had a memorable debut to his T20 international when Gayle holed out in the deep for a run-a-ball seven before captain Kieron Pollard lifted the total in the last over.
Top scorer Pollard (22 not out) hit Shaheen Afridi for a boundary and then ended the innings with a six over mid-wicket before rain ruined the series opener.
The remaining three matches will be played at Providence before a two-test series at Kingston beginning from Aug. 12.
LATEST STORIES
'I just have to stick to the basics': Windies spinner Jomel Warrican ready to play part in spin-friendly Pakistan
- 2025-01-14 17:17:06
- Hits 922
CWI launches high-performance initiatives to accelerate player, coaching development
- 2025-01-15 15:02:01
- Hits 695
Turning the page: Deitz targets Bangladesh series as critical chapter for Windies women’s cricket
- 2025-01-16 16:17:21
- Hits 678
Windies U19 Women suffer heavy 79-run loss to New Zealand in warm-up match
- 2025-01-15 10:52:40
- Hits 669
Former Windies bowler Kenneth Benjamin backs proposed two-tier test system
- 2025-01-12 15:16:25
- Hits 667