Rain washes off first T20I between West Indies and Pakistan

Barbados, July 29 (IANS) The first T20I between West Indies and Pakistan in Barbados was abandoned after non-stop rain ensured the chase never got a chance to start.Earlier, rain had first delayed the start of the match just after the national anthems were played. Eventually, the match was reduced to a nine-over shootout once the ground became dry enough for play.West Indies, in their nine overs, scored 85/5. Lendl Simmons started with a boundary against Shaheen Afridi in the opening over. But Simmons got hit on the neck while trying to pull off debutant Mohammad Wasim in the second over, bringing the physio on the field. Simmons was up on his feet but had to retire hurt, bringing Chris Gayle early to the crease. Two balls later, a slower one from Hasan Ali took out Evin Lewis, putting West Indies on the backfoot very quickly in the match.Nicholas Pooran smacked Mohammad Hafeez for two sixes. But, in the end, the veteran Hafeez had the last laugh as Pooran perished while going for a hat-trick of sixes in the over.Pakistan kept striking at regular intervals to keep the run rate of West Indies in check. The shorter nature of the match meant that the batsmen never got the time to settle down and had to go for their shots early.Wasim returned in the seventh over to dismiss the big-hitting Gayle for his maiden wicket in international cricket. Kieron Pollard provided the finishing touches to the score with an unbeaten 22 off just 9 balls.At the end, rain had the final say, preventing Pakistan from chasing 86.Brief scores: West Indies 85/5 in 9 overs (Kieron Pollard 22 not out, Hasan Ali 2/11) against Pakistan (did not bat). Match abandoned due to rain.
--IANSnr/bsk