Pakistan take on West Indies in the second match of the International Cricket Council (ICC) Champions Trophy 2013 at Kennington Oval, London on Friday. It is the second game of Group B.
Overview:
Pakistan come into the contest after a seven-wicket win against South Africa in the warm-up game of the Champions Trophy. They are going to miss experienced players like Shahid Afridi, Younis Khan, Umar Gul and Umar Akmal. They are unpredictable as they are a bunch of young players except skipper Misbah-ul-Haq who is 39. However, the convincing win in the warm-up game will boost their confidence.
West Indies come into the contest after winning 2012 World Twenty20 championship title. They are one of the strongest teams in the tournament with big hitters who can change the course of a game on their day. They conceded defeat to Australia by four wickets in their first warm-up game but went on to beat Sri Lanka by 17 runs in their second warm-up game.
Previous Meetings:
Pakistan have won 52 of the 120 matches played with West Indies so far. Pakistan have 8-2 win-loss record against the Caribbean in the last 10 ODIs played. Their last meeting was in 2011, when West Indies won by 10 wickets.
Team News:
Pakistan: Imran Farhat, Nasir Jamshed, Mohammad Hafeez, Asad Shafiq and Misbah-ul-Haq put up a good performance in the warm-up match, dispelling doubts that the young side would fall under pressure. They will be missing some senior players but it's time to come out of this shadow and start performing. Youngsters will be expected to put up a spirited show this tournament.
On the bowling front, they have Junaid Khan, Asad Ali, Ehsan Adil, Wahab Riaz, Mohammad Hafeez, Abdur Rehman and Shoaib Malik. They are a strong bowling side though they will miss some of their experienced bowlers.
West Indies: Darren Bravo and Johnson Charles scored half centuries in both the warm-up matches leading up to the tournament, and they will be expected to carry the form into the upcoming games. Ramnaresh Sarwan also scored a half century in the warm-up match. They have big names like Chris Gayle, Marlon Samuels, Kieron Pollard and Dwayne Bravo in the batting line-up.
On the bowling front, they have Kemar Roach, Ravi Rampaul, Tino Best, Sunil Narine, Marlon Samuels, Dwayne Bravo and Kieron Pollard.
Prediction:
West Indies are the favourites to win on Friday.
Squads:
Pakistan: Misbah-ul-Haq (Captain), Abdur Rehman, Asad Ali, Asad Shafiq, Ehsan Adil, Imran Farhat, Junaid Khan, Kamran Akmal, Mohammad Hafeez, Mohammad Irfan, Nasir Jamshed, Saeed Ajmal, Shoaib Malik, Umar Amin, Wahab Riaz
West Indies: Dwayne Bravo (Captain), Denesh Ramdin, Tino Best, Darren Bravo, Johnson Charles, Chris Gayle, Jason Holder, Sunil Narine, Kieron Pollard, Ravi Rampaul, Kemar Roach, Darren Sammy, Marlon Samuels, Ramnaresh Sarwan, Devon Smith
Where to Watch Live
The match will kick off at 3:00 PM IST on Friday and it will be telecast live on Star Cricket channel. It will also be live streamed online on Star Sports official website.
