TAROUBA (Trinidad & Tobago): Hasan Nawaz made a triumphant One-day International debut, hitting an unbeaten 63 — including a six and the clinching boundary in the penultimate over — to power Pakistan over West Indies by five wickets in their series opener.
Hasan and Hussain Talat, returning to the ODI side after six years, formed an unbroken sixth-wicket partnership of 104 to rally the visitors in the day-night affair, with game two on Sunday and the concluder on Tuesday.
West Indies went 280 all out with Evin Lewis leading the way on 60 from 62 balls with three sixes and five fours while Shai Hope added 55 and Roston Chase contributed 53.
Needing 281 to win, Pakistan got 53 runs from captain Mohammad Rizwan before he was pinned lbw by Shamar Joseph in the 38th over with the visitors still 101 runs shy of victory, setting the stage for heroics by Hasan and Hussain.
Hasan struck a six on the second ball of the 49th over and blasted the winning shot to the boundary off Joseph, giving Pakistan the victory with seven balls to spare.
In all, Hasan reached 63 from 54 balls with three sixes and five fours while Talat finished on 41 from 37 balls with one six and four fours.
“This was my debut match, and I had said to myself that I would make it memorable by becoming Player-of-the-Match,” Hasan said afterwards.
“Rizwan told me before the game, ‘It’s your debut match, you have to finish it.’ Even when he was walking back after getting out, he reminded me again to finish the job.
“At the start, the spinners were great, but once the dew came in it got easier. I was confident in my hitting, just like I’ve finished matches in the Pakistan Super League. I’ve also played on challenging pitches in domestic cricket, so I believed I could do it here as well.”
Hussain, playing only his second One-day International, said the conditions were tough but he and Hasan stuck in to complete the victory.
“I was under pressure on my comeback but I backed my ability,” Hussain said. “The conditions were tough but I’m glad we stuck in and finished the job. I think we ran well between the wickets and got the big shots away when the required rate seemed to be rising.”
Pakistan won the toss and sent the hosts in to bat first, a choice that paid quick dividends when Brandon King was taken for four on the fifth ball of the opening over, bowled by Shaheen Shah Afridi (4-51) and caught by Babar Azam.
Lewis exited on the last ball of the 19th over, bowled by Saim Ayub and caught by Shaheen.
West Indies captain Hope was caught behind off Shaheen on the second ball of the 41st over, leaving the hosts on 200-5.
After Romario Shepherd departed in the 43rd over, Chase made the third half-century for the West Indies with a boundary but went out on the next ball, caught by Babar off Naseem Shah (3-55), who also bowled out Gudakesh Motie and Jediah Blades on the last two deliveries of the innings.
“We didn’t take advantage of the new ball,” Rizwan told the host broadcaster after the match. “Shaheen was good at the death. Bowlers were really happy as the ball reversed late. It was a different feeling and a fun one at it.”
Pakistan lost Saim early but Rizwan’s 55 and 40-run stands with Babar and Salman Ali Agha (23), respectively kept the innings intact. Babar, who scored 47, also shared a 47-run stand with Abdullah Shafique (29) for the second wicket.
Hasan entered the fray with Pakistan 158-4 in the 31st over and was joined by Hussain at the crease after Rizwan’s departure. The duo set the tone for the finish by gathering 26 runs off the next two overs to take Pakistan to 209-5 in 40 overs before closing out the victory.
“It was tough to play in conditions like this, and the toss had a big part,” Hope said. “Maybe we could’ve got more runs. Credit to our bowlers for fighting at the end. We needed to score more in the middle overs. But all in all, we’re still one step behind.”
Scoreboard
WEST INDIES:
B. King c Babar b Shaheen4
E. Lewis c Shaheen b Saim60
K. Carty c Salman b Sufiyan30
S. Hope c Rizwan b Shaheen55
S. Rutherford c Saim b Salman10
R. Chase c Babar b Naseem53
R. Shepherd c Abdullah b Shaheen4
G. Motie b Naseem31
S. Joseph b Shaheen8
J. Seales not out 1
J. Blades b Naseem0
EXTRAS (B-4, LB-8, NB-2, W-10)24
TOTAL (all out, 49 overs)280
FALL OF WICKETS: 1-4 (King), 2-81 (Carty), 3-105 (Lewis), 4-136 (Rutherford), 5-200 (Hope), 6-215 (Shepherd), 7-233 (Chase), 8-262 (Joseph), 9-280 (Motie)
BOWLING: Shaheen 8-0-51-4 (2w, 1nb), Naseem 8-0-55-3 (2w, 1nb), Saim 10-1-48-1 (1w), Sufiyan 10-0-52-1 (3w), Salman 10-0-44-1 (2w), Faheem 3-0-18-0
PAKISTAN:
Saim Ayub c Hope b Seales5
Abdullah Shafique lbw Joseph29
Babar Azam st Hope b Motie47
Mohammad Rizwan lbw Joseph53
Salman Ali Agha c&b Chase23
Hasan Nawaz not out63
Hussain Talat not out41
EXTRAS (LB-4, NB-2, W-17)23
TOTAL (for five wickets, 48.5 overs)284
FALL OF WICKETS: 1-16 (Saim), 2-63 (Abdullah), 3-118 (Babar), 4-158 (Salman), 5-180 (Rizwan)
DID NOT BAT: Faheem Ashraf, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Naseem Shah, Sufiyan Muqeem
BOWLING: Seales 10-1-59-1 (1w), Blades 7-0-53-0 (4w, 1nb), Joseph 9.5-1-65-2 (7w), Motie 10-0-42-1 (1w), Shepherd 4-1-20-0, Chase 8-0-41-1 (1w, 1nb)
RESULT: Pakistan won by five wickets
MAN-OF-THE-MATCH: Hasan Nawaz (Pakistan)
Published in Dawn, August 10th, 2025
