WI vs PAK first ODI Preview | Both sides seek to reverse forgettable seasons in build-up to ODI World Cup

08/08/2025

West Indies will meet Pakistan in the first One-Day International at the Brian Lara Stadium in Tarouba, Trinidad, on Friday. Both sides travel to the Caribbean for the three-game ODI leg after the Men in Green pocketed the T20I series in Lauderhill, Florida, earlier this week by a 2-1 margin.

‌West Indies and Pakistan will hit the reboot button ahead of their first match of the ODI leg of the white-ball series at the Brian Lara Stadium in Tarouba, Trinidad, on August 8. Both sides are in the midst of an abysmal ODI season as they travel to the Caribbean after the T20I duel ended 2-1 in Pakistan’s favour in Florida. This will also be the first ODI between both sides in more than three years, with the Windies failing to qualify in recent ICC events.

West Indies were thrashed 3-0 at England in a one-sided contest during their last 50-over outing. Currently placed at 10th in the International Cricket Council’s ODI rankings, the Windies have enough work to do to ensure automatic qualification for the 2027 World Cup in South Africa and Zimbabwe. With the top eight teams getting the go-ahead apart from the host nations, they are a rung below the assured spots for the marquee event.

And their ODI campaign, as their rankings suggest, has been mediocre this year. After series wins against England and Bangladesh at home late last year, the Windies have been inconsistent, sharing the three-match series against Ireland 1-1 before suffering the ignominy of a whitewash in England.

Meanwhile, Pakistan have also been in the same boat, winning just one ODI out of their nine matches this year. That included a forgettable ICC Champions Trophy campaign at home, where they failed to win a single match, losing two, and the game against Bangladesh getting washed out without a result.

Both units will look to arrest their stunning slide in ODIs and come up with a string of consistent performances as they build towards the ODI World Cup. Pakistan, however, are safe from a rankings perspective as they are in the fourth position as per the latest ICC ODI rankings.

Form Guide

WI Form: NRWLLL

PAK Form: LALLL

WI vs PAK head-to-head in ODIs

There is not much to choose between the sides, with the West Indies holding a slight edge over the visitors, winning 71 of the total 137 matches played between both sides. The Men in Green have 63 wins with three matches ending in ties. However, Pakistan have dominated this fixture in the recent past with eight wins in the last 10 matches.

WI 71 - 63 PAK

Pitch and Conditions

The surface at the Brian Lara Stadium is expected to be flat and dry, with batters bound to enjoy their time in friendly conditions in the middle. ODI cricket returns to the venue after a gap of two years, when India, after scoring 351, beat the hosts by a whopping 200 runs in August 2023.

A warm and cloudy day will welcome both sides to the venue in Trinidad, with temperatures expected to be around 31 degrees at the start of the day-night game before cooling off to 24 degrees later on in the game. There might be spells of rain in the morning, with the chances of a downpour reducing to 25% before the start of the contest.

Team News

The experienced duo of Mohammad Rizwan and Babar Azam are back in the mix for the visitors in ODIs, as Pakistan continues to place faith in Rizwan as the captain of the side. Meanwhile, Brandon King and Evin Lewis are back in the squad for the home side after missing out on the T20I leg, with former captain Jason Holder being the notable omission after his heroics in the second T20I.

WI Expected XI

Brandon King, Evin Lewis, Keacy Carty, Shai Hope (c & wk), Sherfane Rutherford, Roston Chase, Romario Shepherd, Jayden Seales, Gudakesh Motie, Matthew Forde, Jediah Blades

PAK Expected XI

Abdullah Shafique, Saim Ayub, Babar Azam, Mohammad Rizwan (c & wk), Hasan Nawaz, Salman Agha, Faheem Ashraf, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Naseem Shah, Abrar Ahmed, Sufiyan Muqeem