Sent to bat in the Group D match at Fitzherbert Park, Pakistan’s U19s compiled 297 for seven off their 50 overs and West Indies U19s replied with 257 all out off 46.5 overs.
Chasing 298 for victory, the young Windies staged a very promising start when Brathwaite (92 not out) and Griffith (84) posted an attractive opening partnership of 120 at a run-rate of 6.66 runs per over, well ahead of the required pace for victory.
Their separation though, triggered a steady decline and wicket-keeper/batsman Shane Dowrich, with 19 off 18 balls, was the next highest scorer as the young West Indians lost momentum and never challenged the target. The 17-year-old Brathwaite, carrying his bat for 125 balls with four boundaries, was just eight short of a hundred when Nicholson Gordon (6) was bowled in the 47th over to give the former champions a winning start to the championship.
His left-handed opening partner Griffith was more aggressive, punishing the Pakistan bowlers with a blistering innings at far better than run-a-ball rate.
His 84 came off just 55 balls with 11 fours and three sixes before he was bowled by the leg-spinner Usman Qadir, son of the Pakistani great Abdul Qadir.
The Guyanese Griffith was especially punishing against the quicker bowlers, smashing them to all parts of the ground.
The Caribbean side slid quickly from 120 without loss to 126 for three when the off-spinner Muhammad Babar Azam – in successive overs — snared the vital wickets of Evin Lewis and captain Andre Creary, both without scoring.
Dowrich, Akeem Dewar (13), Yannic Cariah (11) and Jermaine Blackwood (10) were the only the other batsmen after the openers getting to double figures in a disappointing batting decline after the rapid century opening partnership.
Leg-spinner Ahmad Shahzad led Pakistan’s bowling with three for 43, and received good support from Babar Azam (2-35), Raza Hassan (2-39) and Qadir (2-41).
Earlier, the Pakistanis had built their near 300 total on the back of a century from Azam, who enjoyed a fine all-round game.
The opening batsman stroked 129 off 132 balls with 14 fours and one six and steered the innings well. He brought up his hundred off 110 balls and was fourth out in the 45th over with Pakistan U19s on a solid 241 approaching the last five overs.
Captain Azeem Ghumman contributed 49 off 67 balls and Hammad Azam was 28 not out at the end.
The in-form left-arm spinner Jomel Warrican was the chief wicket-taker for West Indies, claiming three for 63 off his 10 overs and the tall pacer Jason Holder bagged two for 50 off nine overs.
In other matches on the opening day, title-holders India strolled past Afghanistan by eight wickets, Canada beat Zimbabwe by 10 runs and South Africa posted a five-wicket victory over Ireland.
West Indies U19s will face Bangladesh in their next game tomorrow and face Papua New Guinea in their last group match next Tuesday.
Bangladesh and Papua New Guinea face each other today in the next Group D fixture.
The two top teams from each of the four groups will move on to the Championship quarter-final phase and the bottom two will play in the Plate event.
SCOREBOARD
PAKISTAN U19 Innings:
Babar Azam run out (Dewar) 129
Ahsan Ali b Holder 21
Ahmed Shehzad c & b Warrican 21
*Azeem Ghumman run out (Griffith) 49
Rameez Aziz c wkp Dowrich b Holder 14
Hammad Azam not out 28
Usman Qadir c Griffith b Warrican 1
Sarmad Bhatti c Gordon b Warrican 14
+Anop Santosh not out 12
Extras (lb2, w6) 8
TOTAL (7 wickets – 50 overs) 297
Did not bat: Raza Hasan, Fayyaz Butt
Fall of wickets: 1-40 (Ahsan Ali, 9.1 overs), 2-90 (Ahmed Shehzad, 19.3), 3-214 (Azeem Ghumman, 41.5), 4-241 (Babar Azam, 44.5), 5-241 (Rameez Aziz, 44.6), 6-248 (Usman Qadir, 45.6), 7-267 (Sarmad Bhatti, 47.5)
Bowling: Gordon 9-1-54-0 (3w); Holder 9-0-50-2l; Warrican 10-0-63-3 (2w); Blackwood 2-0-15-0; Creary 7-0-42-0 (1w); Dewar 8-0-50-0; Cariah 5-0-21-0.
WEST INDIES U19 Innings
K Brathwaite not out 92
T Griffith b Usman Qadir 84
E Lewis b Babar Azam 0
*A Creary lbw b Babar Azam 0
Y Cariah b Usman Qadir 11
+S Dowrich c Azeem Ghumman b Ahmed Shehzad 19
J Holder c Usman Qadir b Ahmed Shehzad 3
J Blackwood c Usman Qadir b Ahmed Shehzad 10
A Dewar st wkp Anop Santosh b Raza Hasan 13
J Warrican b Fayyaz Butt 5
N Gordon b Raza Hasan 6
Extras (lb2, w10, nb2) 14
TOTAL (all out – 46.5 overs) 257
Fall of wickets: 1-120 (Griffith, 17.6 overs), 2-123 (Lewis, 18.5), 3-126 (Creary, 20.3), 4-151 (Cariah, 27.5), 5-182 (Dowrich, 32.6), 6-193 (Holder, 35.3), 7-215 (Blackwood, 40.6), 8-243 (Dewar, 44.4), 9-250 (Warrican, 45.5), 10-257 (Gordon, 46.5)
Bowling: Sarmad Bhatti 2-0-27-0; Fayyaz Butt 8-0-46-1 (1w); Hammad Azam 1-0-24-0 (1nb); Raza Hasan 8.5-0-39-2 (1nb, 2w); Babar Azam 10-1-35-2 (1w); Usman Qadir 10-0-41-2 (1w); Ahmed Shehzad 7-0-43-3 (1w).
Result: Pakistan U19s win by 40 runs
Points: Pakistan U19s 2, West Indies U19s 0
Toss: West Indies U19s
Umpires: N Bagh, R Kettleborough
