Five reasons why Pakistan will defeat West Indies in the 1st ODI

3. Batting order

Misbah-ul-Haq coming in at number 4 will give much stability to the batting order at the right time

Pakistan faced heavy criticism post-Champions Trophy regarding the batting order they employed. Misbah-ul-Haq has the ability to anchor the innings for Pakistan but he was intent upon playing down the order even though the top order frequently suffered from meltdowns. By the time he made his way to the 22-yards, the match had already slipped out of Pakistan’s hands.

If the recent practice match is anything to go by, he has made that correction and will be taking his place at number 4 as the team’s best batsman. The sacking of Imran Farhat means that Md. Hafeez and Nasir Jamshed will open the innings. The pairing looks good in terms of their contrasting styles.

Nasir Jamshed is a talented left-handed batsman who did very well earlier in the year against India scoring two hundreds. He likes to assess the conditions before playing his shots whereas Md. Hafeez has a natural aptitude for aggressive shot-making. The left-hand, right-hand combination will irk the bowlers in the first few overs as they try to extract swing with the new ball.