Mohammad Rizwan a ‘Paper captain’! Babar Azam still leading Pakistan despite being sacked by PCB

Pakistan kicked off their three-match ODI series against the West Indies in style after winning the T20I series in Florida. The tourists crushed the West Indies by five wickets in Tarouba on Friday, August 8. The hero of the night was debutant Hasan Nawaz.

Nawaz impressed everyone with an unbeaten knock of 63 runs and a match-winning, unbeaten partnership of 104 runs with Hussain Talat (41). Chasing 281, Pakistan kept their cool despite a few setbacks in the middle overs to record the win with seven balls against the West Indies.

The moment between Mohammad Rizwan and Babar Azam from the 1st ODI goes viral

With this thrilling win, the Men in Green took a 1-0 lead in the ongoing three-match ODI series against the Caribbean side. The match also gave fans a light-hearted moment between the former Pakistan captain Babar Azam and current captain Mohammad Rizwan in Tarouba on Friday.

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In the eighth over of the West Indies’ innings, Saim Ayub was bowling to Keacy Carty, who drove the ball firmly through covers. Babar Azam, fielding in the ring, dove to his right to stop the shot. From behind the stumps came a loud call of “Kaptaana!” from Mohammad Rizwan.

I love hearing "Kaptana"~🤌🌏👑#BabarAzam𓃵 #BabarAzam #PakvsWI #PakistanCricket pic.twitter.com/ZhxgapoBIh

— 𝘽𝙖𝙗𝙖𝙧 𝘼𝙯𝙖𝙢 𝙎𝙩𝙖𝙣 👑 (@babar_a56) August 8, 2025

The moment sparked smiles because Rizwan is Pakistan’s current ODI skipper, while Babar led the team until stepping down after the 2023 World Cup. The clip quickly went viral on social media.

Babar Azam plays a key role in Pakistan's first ODI victory

Meanwhile, Babar Azam also chipped in with a valuable 47 from 64 balls during the team’s successful chase against the hosts. The stylish right-handed batter timed his drives and flicks beautifully, steadying the innings after the early loss of Saim Ayub. Alongside Abdullah Shafique and Rizwan, Babar kept the scoreboard ticking before falling in the 24th over.

And then Hasan Nawaz showed his class. Coming in with Pakistan in a slightly tricky spot, the 22-year-old showed maturity beyond his age. He and Hussain Talat put on an unbroken 104-run stand, rotating strike smartly and punishing the bad balls. Nawaz’s 54-ball knock included three towering sixes and five fours, with the winning runs coming off his bat.

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Hussain Talat shines with the bat against the West Indies

Talat also played a brilliant knock of 41 runs from 37 balls against the Windies. Earlier, the West Indies posted 280 after being put in to bat in the first ODI in Tarouba. Evin Lewis smashed 60 off 56 balls, while captain Shai Hope made 55 and Roston Chase added 53.

Pakistani bowlers had to work hard, but Shaheen Afridi returned with impressive figures of 4/51 to help the tourists keep the Windies batters in check. Naseem Shah also scalped three wickets, including two in back-to-back balls to end the innings.

The second ODI will be played on Sunday, August 10, and Pakistan will look to wrap up the ongoing three-match ODI series early, while the West Indies will aim to bounce back and keep the contest alive after losing the T20I series to the Men in Green earlier this week.