Pakistan skipper Inzamam-ul-Haq had said on the eve of the match he was pinning his hopes on winning the toss and putting the West Indies under early pressure with paceman Shoaib Akhtar.

For the West Indies, allrounder Chris Gayle was passed fit to open the batting after suffering a shoulder tendon injury during the opening match against Australia.

But they surprisingly dropped all-rounder Dwayne Bravo in one of two changes to the line-up that was thrashed by the hosts in Melbourne last Friday.

Teenage batsman Xavier Marshall has also lost his spot with the pair making way for all-rounder Ricardo Powell and left-arm quick Pedro Collins.

Pakistan retained the same side which lost by four wickets to Australia on Sunday, retaining wicketkeeper Kamran Akmal as opener while big-hitting Shahid Afridi came in at number eight.

Neither team has recorded a win in the series so far after both lost their opening matches against world champions and hosts Australia.

Pakistan: Inzamam-ul-Haq (c), Salman Butt, Kamran Akmal, Yousuf Youhana, Shoaib Malik, Mohammad Hafeez, Abdul Razzaq, Shahid Afridi, Azhar Mahmood, Shoaib Akhtar, Naved-ul-Hasan, Iftikhar Anjum (12th man).

West Indies: Brian Lara (c), Chris Gayle, Wavell Hinds, Ramnaresh Sarwan, Shivnarine Chanderpaul, Marlon Samuels, Ricardo Powell, Courtney Browne, Ian Bradshaw, Mervyn Dillon, Pedro Collins, Xavier Marshall (12th man).

(Article: Copyright © 2005 AFP)