Champions Trophy: West Indies defeat Pakistan by 2 wickets

Live score and live updates of the opening match of Group B between Pakistan and West Indies.

Updates of the opening match of Group B between Pakistan and West Indies.

==================================================================================== Scorecard» I Commentary» ==================================================================================== WEST INDIES INNINGS: Over 40.4 || Score 172/8 For reasons unknown, both Sunil Narine and Kemar Roach were promoted ahead of Ravi Rampaul. And may be because it was Roach’s day as he hit the winning runs off a boundary. West Indies have won the match by two wickets. ==================================================================================== Over 40 || Score 165/8 And Pakistan continue to take wickets. This time it was Sunil Narine who was looking to finish off things single-handedly. It was a bouncer by Mohammad Irfan and Narine edged it to Akmal who has been very safe behind the stumps today. 6 needed from 60, Ramdin is the only recognised batsman at the crease. ==================================================================================== Over 37 || Score 147/7 Windies have lost two crucial wickets including that of their skipper Dwayne Bravo who was lured by some flight offered by Saeed Ajmal and he attempted a sweep, didn’t connect and that was plumb! Another recognised batsman walks back to the pavilion. Windies need 24 runs from 13 overs. ==================================================================================== Over 30 || Score 112/5 Windies have added 31 runs in the last ten overs and surprisingly Kieron Pollard is playing very slow. He has scored just 16 runs from 42 balls and Pakistan won’t mind that. West Indies now need 59 runs from 20 overs and they should win this one unless Pakistani bowlers pull out a miracle from here onwards. ==================================================================================== Over 20 || Score 81/4 Saeed Ajmal got rid of the dangerous Chris Gayle who failed to pick his doosra that hit his middle-stump. Five balls later Sarwan looked uncomfortable to a bouncer and edged it to the keeper. Marlon Samuels is the set batsman (24*) at the crease and has the company of the dangerous Pollard. Pakistan are making sure to pick wickets at regular intervals. ==================================================================================== Over 10 || Score 49/2 After a delayed start to the second innings, Windies got off to a similar start as Mohammad Irfan struck twice to dismiss Johnson Charles and Dwayne Bravo. The good news for Windies is that Chris Gayle is still at the crease and we all know his mere presence out there can scare the best bowlers in the world. Windies are chasing a low total and they would want him to stay at the crease. ==================================================================================== PAKISTAN INNINGS: Over 48 || Score 170/10 Misbah was expected to play a captain’s knock and he did but was devoid of a century as he fell short of partners. Mohammad Irfan was the last man to be dismissed by Rampaul and Misbah remained not out on 96. He has scored more than 50 percent of the runs and Pakistan bowlers will have to bowl their heart out to defend this paltry score. ==================================================================================== Over 40 || Score 137/8 Misbah is falling short of partners and he needs to take most of the strike from here onwards. ==================================================================================== Over 15 || Score 40/3 Kemar Roach who picked the first two wickets completed his three-wicket haul as Asad Shafiq was out for a duck in the seventh over of the innings. Nasir Jamshed and skipper Misbah-ul-Haq have so far added unbeaten 25 runs for the fourth wicket and they need to stitch a big partnership to rescue their team out of this trouble. ==================================================================================== Over 5 || Score 40/3 West Indian bowlers bowled really well in the first 5 overs to take 2 crucial wickets without too many runs on the board. Fast bowling duo of Kemar Roach and Ravi Rampaul hit the good length areas continuously and troubled the Pakistani batsmen in the process. Roach sent opener Imran Farhat in the last ball of the very first over for just 2 runs. Roach then trapped Mohammad Hafeez in front of the wickets for just 4 runs in the 5th over. After 5 overs, Pakistan were struggling at 14/2. ==================================================================================== Toss: West Indian captain Dwayne Bravo has won the toss and decided to bowl first against Pakistan. ==================================================================================== Preview: Former champions West Indies will lock horns with the incredibly unpredictable Pakistan in what promises to be a high-voltage group B Champions Trophy clash at the Oval today. The Caribbean team, which won the title in 2004 besides finishing runners-up in 1998 and 2006, is high on star power with the intimidating presence of an in-form Chris Gayle being a massive confidence-booster. Pakistan, on the other hand, is a team full of greenhorns despite being led by the oldest player in the event -- a 39-year-old Misbah-ul-Haq. A look at the line-ups would make the West Indies slight favourites for the match. Gayle, Marlon Samuels, Kieron Pollard and Kemar Roach have the ability to just knock out the opposition attack with their power-hitting. In fact, the troika of Gayle, Pollard and Samuels displayed good form at the recent IPL and would be looking to carry the confidence into the Champions Trophy even though the format would be different. Skipper and all-rounder Dwayne Bravo is another player who can be a match-winner on his day. Gayle`s aggregate of 695 in Champions Trophy matches is the highest among all batsmen. On the bowling front, the outfit has quite a few tricksters in the line-up, including the surprise package of pacer Jason Holder. The youngest in the team is 6`8" tall and could prove to be a decisive factor in the seaming conditions with his medium pace. Among the slower bowlers, Sunil Narine has been a proven performer and would be expected to work his magic here after a stupendous IPL performance. The Caribbeans were, however, handed a sound thrashing by the Australians in their most recent ODI assignment at the beginning of the year and it remains to be seen whether they can regroup. Teams: West Indies (Playing XI): Chris Gayle, Johnson Charles, Darren Bravo, Marlon Samuels, Ramnaresh Sarwan, Dwayne Bravo(c), Kieron Pollard, Denesh Ramdin(w), Ravi Rampaul, Sunil Narine, Kemar Roach Pakistan (Playing XI): Imran Farhat, Nasir Jamshed, Mohammad Hafeez, Asad Shafiq, Misbah-ul-Haq(c), Shoaib Malik, Kamran Akmal(w), Saeed Ajmal, Wahab Riaz, Mohammad Irfan, Junaid Khan