BBC News
Competing against a competitive team like Pakistan at its home ground would have been tough for a full XI and here the West Indies team was deprived of its first choice.
Undoubtedly, West Indies bowled very well in the power play and did not give a chance to Mohammad Rizwan to open his arm but in the middle overs, as Mohammad Rizwan's innings became stronger, the confidence of the novice West Indian bowlers decreased.
And Muhammad Rizwan was not yet being caught when Haider Ali's 'invasion' was also involved. Of all the new faces Pakistan has tried in the last two years, the highest hopes have always been pinned on Haider Ali.
But unfortunately, Haider Ali was not able to do justice to his talent on this big stage as he demanded. In modern cricket, where Mara Mari is touring, there are few such talented and charming batsmen. Haider Ali's beauty is also his charming shots.
But in this innings, he also tested the strength of his limbs. Anyway, there is so little time left in the next T20 World Cup that every match is like a step towards preparation. So, in such a situation, Haider Ali's performance in the middle order is a good omen for Pakistan.
Haider's innings pressure on West Indian bowling in the last overs was such that Muhammad Nawaz also washed his hands in the flowing Ganges. If his innings were subtracted, the possible combination on the scoreboard would probably be a somewhat realistic target for Nicholas Poorn.
But even though the wicket was conducive to batting, facing this Pakistani bowling attack would have been a good test even for an experienced batting line-up. Because this bowling attack does not allow any partnership to breathe for long.
In such a situation, the only chance for a novice XI is for his experienced players to carry the whole load on their heads. In this lineup, Shea Hope and Nicholas Pooran were the only two bridges on which all the hopes of the West Indies depended.
Puran made a good start but he could not get an accurate idea of Muhammad Wasim's talent. He was calling with the best fluency but forgot that not every ball comes on the bat and when a great yorker comes in from the stumps, the only way of salvation can be the combination of present mind and good luck. In the case of Puran, this combination was not possible.
Hope somehow kept hopes alive, but in the pursuit of such a lofty goal, unless partners are forged, the prospects are not clear.
The bright side for Pakistan was that in the middle overs, along with Muhammad Nawaz, Shadab Khan also returned to his form which was his identity at the beginning of his career. It was Shadab Khan who did not provide easy length to any batsman and sometimes forced him out of the crease. The West Indian Middle Order had no plans for Shadab.
It is a pleasure for Pakistan that the heavily reduced home season started with a victory by such a margin and a big role in this victory was also played by their middle order where Haider Ali's form filled the gap of experience.
