LONDON: Pakistan will take on the former champions West Indies in its first group B Champions Trophy clash today at The Oval.
It should be mentioned here that the Caribbean team won the title in 2004 and finished as runners-up in 1998 and 2006; hence it is favorite for today’s match with the indomitable presence of an in-form Chris Gayle being a massive confidence-booster.
Particularly, three players Gayle, Pollard and Samuels played exceptionally well at the recent IPL and will enter today’s match with the same buoyed up confidence.
Skipper and all-rounder Dwayne Bravo is another player who can be a match-winner on his day.
Pakistan will seek a good start from the experienced Mohammed Hafeez. Also, in the absence of Shahid Afridi, Kamran Akmal is expected to perform with Misbah and Shoaib Malik being the backbone of a middle-order.
Pakistan’s bowling attack is armed with three left-arm pacers, including the 7’1″ tall Mohammad Irfan, Junaid Khan and Wahab Riaz. The two right-armers are Asad Ali and Ehsan Adil.
In the absence of Gul, who has been ruled out owing to his injury, senior off-spinner Saeed Ajmal, the most experienced bowler, is expected to unfold his magic today.Both team players are
West Indies: Dwayne Bravo (Capt.), Dinesh 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.
Pakistan: Misbah-ul-Haq (Capt.), Nasir Jamshed, Mohammad Hafeez, Imran Farhat, Kamran Akmal, Shoaib Malik, Asad Shafiq, Saeed Ajmal, Junaid Khan, M. Irfan, Asad Ali, Wahab Riaz, Umer Amin, Abdul Rehman, Ehsan Adil.
