Summary West Indies score 194 for three at the end of a rain-shortened first day
TRINIDAD (Web Desk) - Kavem Hodge's dogged unbeaten 83 and the support of Shai Hope in an unbroken fourth-wicket stand took the West Indies to 194 for three at the end of a rain-shortened first day of the first test against Pakistan at the Brian Lara Stadium in Trinidad on Saturday.
Test cricket's newest venue – the 13th in the Caribbean – offered a pitch which made free scoring difficult while the tourists' seam-based attack lacked the necessary firepower to compensate for the turgid surface.
Hodge displayed the necessary application in four hours at the crease with only Mohammad Abbass' persistence presenting him with any significant challenges in an innings so far occupying 181 deliveries, embellished by nine boundaries.
Fresh from a century earlier in the month in the second and final test against Sri Lanka in Antigua, Hope batted with calm assurance, his knock of 39 not out in partnership with Hodge taking the home side from the unease of 106 for three in mid-afternoon.
STUMPS | DAY 1
— Windies Cricket (@windiescricket) July 25, 2026
A solid day's work for the Men in Maroon.
Kavem Hodge leading the way on 83*️⃣ and Shai Hope unbeaten on 39*️⃣ as the pair set the platform heading into Day 2️⃣.#WIvPAK #WIOutside pic.twitter.com/eA4sxYB4hm
Persisent rain allowed for just over an hour's play after West Indies captain Roston Chase won the toss and opted to bat.
In that time Abbass made an early strike when Brandon King dragged a wide delivery onto his stumps.
When play resumed half-an-hour after the scheduled lunch interval, Hodge and the other opener, Tagenarine Chanderpaul, pushed their second-wicket stand to 51 before Amir Jamal took the edge of Chanderpaul's bat for Salman Agha to take the catch at second slip.
WEST INDIES: Tagenarine Chanderpaul, Brandon King, Kavem Hodge, Shai Hope (wk), Amir Jangoo, Justin Greaves, Roston Chase (capt), Kemar Roach, Jomel Warrican, Shamar Joseph, Jayden Seales
PAKISTAN: Azan Awais, Imam ul Haq, Shan Masood, Babar Azam (capt), Mohammad Rizwan (wk), Salman Ali Agha, Aamer Jamal, Ali Usman, Khurram Shahzad, Mohammad Ali, Mohammad Abbas
