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December 05, 2006

A confident Pakistan side led by the make shift captain Younis Khan is all set to counter an emerging West Indies side in the first of the five One Dayers at Rawalpindi. Inzamam still has to complete his ban of four ODIs following the Oval Test forfeiture which would be over with the first ODI at Pindi. Windies are a formidable opposition in the One Day Version of the game, they have been the runners up in the ICC Champions Trophy. But in this series, they have lost two of their key performers - Ramnaresh Sarwan, the consistent performer with the bat and the useful all round abilities of Dwayne Bravo. One more minus in this current Windies team is that most players look homesick, they have been away from the Caribbean for a long time. Remember they traveled to Pakistan straightaway after the Champions Trophy in which they had to also play a Qualifying round with sides like Bangladesh and Zimbabwe!

It's quite a challenge for the tourists, there may not be much of a motivation for them to go all out in this series. Whereas Pakistan would like to win the series as all the matches would be played under packed houses compared to what was seen during the Test Matches. Although the Inzamam led Pakistan side had won the Test Series 2-0, they have a lot to prove as they had lost their last home series which was against India where they lost the 5-ODI Series 1-4. They have been depleted by the bans of their match winning speedsters Shoaib Akhtar and Mohammad Asif. They didn't have a good outing in the Champions Trophy as well. But there is enough determination among the boys to win the series as they relish the challenge of taking the responsibility on their young shoulders. There is enough experience in Inzamam who is expected to return after the 1st ODI, Younis Khan and Mohammad Yousuf to name a few to get the youngsters to rally around them.

Pakistan for this series have dropped the crowd's darling - Shahid Afridi who hasn't fired to his potential in the recent past. It did not help him any bit in reversing his decision of retiring from Test Cricket as well. It's a good thing that Pakistan has got Danish Kaneria in the squad for the 1st ODI, a specialist leg spinner is always a potential match winner if he can get control of what he is bowling. Most of the players who have figured in the Test Series have retained their places which is a good thing.

The West Indies had lost Sarwan on the final day of the third test when he had sustained a fracture in his right foot after getting a toe crushing yorker from Umar Gul. Bravo has flown back too as he wanted to be with his loved ones who are unwell. Their replacements are Daren Ganga and the ever reliable Corey Collymore. It's a surprise choice of having Daren Ganga in the One Day Squad as he hasn't set the house on fire with a strike rate of just over 60 runs per 100 balls in the 34 ODIs he has played till date. But his game is useful as there is room for people who can anchor the innings for 50 overs which allows freedom to the stroke makers at the other end. The wicket keeper for West Indies is Denesh Ramdin as the selectors have got over their experiment of having Carlton Baugh. Windies will depend on Chris Gayle, Shiv Chanderpaul and Brian Lara to perform with the bat. But how much of hunger is left in these folks to get the runs remains to be seen. There is no question that West Indies will be reserving their top fight when it comes to the World Cup games which would be played in their islands for the first time in history. For now, it might be 'let's finish it off and head back to the Caribbean'! And we have to mention this, the first ODI at Rawalpindi is at the mercy of the Rain Gods!!

Pakistan Squad for 1st ODI : Younis Khan (Captain), Mohammad Hafeez, Imran Farhat, Yasir Hameed, Shoaib Malik, Mohammad Yousuf, Kamran Akmal (Wicket Keeper), Abdul Razzaq, Rao Iftikhar Anjum, Umar Gul, Mohammad Sami, Rana Naved-ul-Hasan, Danish Kaneria, Abdul Rehman

West Indies Squad for the Series : Brian Lara (Captain), Chris Gayle, Shivnarine Chanderpaul, Daren Ganga, Runako Morton, Marlon Samuels, Dwayne Smith, Lendl Simmons, Denesh Ramdin (Wicket Keeper), Ian Bradshaw, Dave Mohammed, Daren Powell, Jerome Taylor, Corey Collymore

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