Cricket

Pakistan vs West Indies 1st Test Tips - Hosts To Be Too Strong In Spin-Friendly Conditions

By Nikhil Kalro

05 Feb 2025

Nikhil Kalro 05 Feb 2025

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Pakistan returns home after a challenging tour in South Africa
West Indies struggles with spin conditions and a Pakistan win is predicted
Pakistan's chances boosted by home advantage and team changes

West Indies' captain Kraigg Brathwaite (R) and his Pakistan's counterpart Shan Masood (Getty Images)

Pakistan vs West Indies First Test Preview
Pakistan Form
Pakistan Team News
West Indies Form
West Indies Team News

Pakistan vs West Indies First Test Preview

After a tough tour to South Africa, Pakistan will be pleased to return home where they feel most comfortable in spin-friendly conditions for a short Test series against West Indies.

Pakistan are coming off one of the more difficult Test tours in international cricket presently, on the road in South Africa. Their resilience and spirit in that series will give them plenty of confidence and momentum going into this home series.

West Indies last played Pakistan in a Test series back in 2021 at home, which ended 1-1. However, West Indies last won a Test in Pakistan almost 25 years back, in 1990. There are plenty of headaches for West Indies going into this series, not least of which is their record in Pakistan.

Apart from the head-to-head record, both teams will have to overcome the lack of context for this series.

While this series is part of the World Test Championship, these two teams will essentially be playing in two dead-rubber Test matches considering Australia and South Africa have qualified for the final of the WTC cycle.

Pakistan Form

Pakistan’s form has been impressive in the last few months. Although there is not much evidence of that after losing both Tests against South Africa, Pakistan will take plenty away from that tour.

Now back in familiar territory, the expectation is that Pakistan may simply be too tough for West Indies in these conditions.

Pakistan Team News

There are lots of changes to Pakistan’s Test squad. Saim Ayub, who suffered a fractured ankle in South Africa, has been left out of the squad. Additionally, several seamers have been rested for this tour.

"As part of workload management, the pace quartet of Aamer Jamal, Mohammad Abbas, Mir Hamza, and Naseem Shah has been rested," the PCB said in a media release.

Shaheen Afridi remains out of Pakistan’s Test team, which will be captained by Shan Masood.

West Indies Form

West Indies will face a challenging trial of spin on this tour without having had a long run of game time in similar conditions.

In the recent T20 series on tricky batting surfaces against Bangladesh, West Indies’ batting faltered miserably, and there is a strong likelihood of that continuing on this tour.

"When you talk about Test cricket, it's not only the opposition's skill that provides tests, but the different conditions, different environments, and different game situations provide those tests. And that's why you want to play at this level and in this format, to test yourself over four-five days. The game could change so rapidly,” West Indies’ coach Andre Coley said ahead of the Test tour.

West Indies Team News

West Indies will rely on two left-arm orthodox spinners in this series: Jomel Warrican and Gudakesh Motie. Kevin Sinclair will be the third spinner but will bring in a bit of variety with his right-arm offspin.

West Indies will also go in with Kemar Roach and Jayden Seales as their primary fast bowlers. Kraigg Brathwaite will lead the West Indies squad.

Verdict

Based on the evidence from their series against Bangladesh, there is a high probability that West Indies will struggle in these conditions.

Pakistan’s spinners are far more accurate on surfaces that turn a lot which will pose a perennial threat to both edges of the bat.

Even though the odds are lower, we would recommend going for the Pakistan win to begin the series.

Pakistan Win

Match Result

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