In-form Pakistan heavy favourites against inexperienced West Indies.
Odds: Pakistan: 1.21 , Westindies: 6
If Pakistan bat 1st very little chances for hedging if Westindies bat 1st hedging could occur however i see Pakistan winning comfortably.
Pakistan will easily clinch this one, Westindies has very little chances. If Samuel clicks and plays big which is not easy against Pakistan attack.
Form guide
Pakistan WWWLWW
West Indies LLLWWW
In the spotlight
Given his indifferent form in the PSL, Ahmed Shehzad's selection for the home series raised a lot of eyebrows. The opening batsman had a poor PSL season with the bat, scoring 173 runs at 19.22 with a strike rate of 85.22, but selectors have decided to stick with him given his decent T20I form. A propensity to play out far too many dot balls for the modern game often sees him come under fierce criticism, but he is the second-highest run-getter for Pakistan in T20Is since the start of 2017, behind only Babar Azam, with 367 at 33.36. He will look to improve his numbers further against West Indies' short-of-big-names side.
There is no denying West Indies' inexperience, but it is the one side you wouldn't bet against in this format. One man Pakistan wouldn't want to write off in particular is Marlon Samuels. Twice a World T20 winner - not to mention Man of the Match in both finals he's played, Samuels will be the major driving force for the Caribbean side, and is expected to provide much-needed support for captain Jason Mohammed. When West Indies visited Pakistan last 12 years ago, a memorable unbeaten 100 from Samuels in Multan saw West Indies rout Pakistan. Shoaib Malik - the only Pakistan survivor from that game - will be sure not to let his side underestimate him.
Team news
Pakistan will open with Fakhar Zaman and Babar Azam, and not play Ahmed Shehzad most likely. Hussain Talat is set to make his debut at No. 3 and Asif Ali will likely get his international cap too, but Shaheen Afridi will have to wait.
Pakistan (likely XI): 1 Fakhar Zaman, 2 Babar Azam, 3 Hussain Talat, 4 Sarfraz Ahmed (capt & wk), 5 Shoaib Malik, 6 Faheem Ashraf, 7 Asif Ali, 8 Shadab Khan, 9 Mohammad Amir, 10 Hasan Ali, 11 Mohammad Nawaz
It's difficult to predict West Indies' combination, but there is no news of injury. With two uncapped players of their own, the first game could see several players from each side taking their first steps in international cricket.
West Indies (likely XI): 1 Andre Fletcher, 2 Chadwick Walton, 3 Marlon Samuels, 4 Jason Mohammed (capt), 5 Denesh Ramdin (wk), 6 Rovman Powell, 7 Keemo Paul, 8 Rayad Emrit, 9 Veerasammy Permaul, 10 Samuel Badree, 11 Kesrick Williams
Pitch and conditions
The temperature in Karachi has risen drastically since the PSL final last week, touching 40 degrees Celsius, but the sea breeze in the evening should make the weather more pleasant. The pitch is expected to be hard with the sun baking it all day, and a run-fest could be on the cards.