West Indies once again held their cool, displaying a surprising level of maturity, to inch ahead of Pakistan in the third Test in Sharjah.
The tourists were 114 for five at stumps with first innings centurion Kraigg Brathwaite batting on 44, still 39 runs away from Pakistan’s modest target of 153 to win the match. Misbah ul Haq should thank spin spearhead Yasir Shah (3-30) and Wahab Riaz (2-30) for keeping them in the hunt after the batsmen, led by Azhar Ali (91), managed just 208 in the second innings.
In the morning session, Pakistan’s hopes of posting a target of at least 200 rested on the shoulders of Azhar. Wicketkeeper Sarfraz Ahmed looked good, moving to 42 with four hits to the fence, before he fell to leg-spinner Devendra Bishoo trying to dab the ball to third man and edging it to slip.
Mohammad Nawaz tried to hold his end but Bishoo was beginning to get some bite in his deliveries and one such ball from round the wicket jumped at the left-hander, the edge going to short leg where Leon Johnson took a sharp catch.
It was all down to Ali now. Perhaps it was due to the pressure of the situation, but what Ali did next was inexplicable. In the 77th over, with Pakistan on 189 for six and a long way away from safety, the opener tried to play two shots off one Bishoo delivery, first a paddle and then a glide but only managed to edge it to Darren Bravo at first slip. He looked more angry at the shot than missing out on a century by nine runs.
If Ali’s dismissal was incomprehensible, Mohammad Amir’s was comical. Amir decided attack was the best option with Pakistan running out of batsmen. His clean strike down the ground against Bishoo in the 79th over was all but guaranteed to reach the boundary when Roston Chase dived full length, pushed the ball back into the field and threw the ball to the non-striker’s end where Amir, who was busy admiring his shot with fellow batsman Wahab Riaz, was found short of the crease.
Windies skipper Jason Holder then had Riaz caught at short leg and Shah trapped front of the stumps for his five-for, a crucial, and rare, contribution from Holder in Tests. The target was 153, a tricky one which needs just that right balance of caution and aggression.
The Caribbean side, however, hadn’t tasted success in 13 Tests so their nerves at the start of the chase were on expected lines. Johnson done his best to get back to the pavilion in the first five overs, edging Amir to third and first slip where captain Misbah and Sami Aslam, respectively, grassed sitters.
But spin did the trick for Pakistan after tea, Shah striking in his first over by hitting the pads of Johnson in front of the stumps as he attempted a pull.
It soon became 35 for two as Bravo was lured outside the off stump by a Shah slider that took the edge behind to the keeper.
Victory in the final session was almost out of question for the Windies but that didn’t stop Marlon Samuels from taking on Shah down the ground, where Zulfiqar Babar took a simple catch to leave the visitors at 57 for three.
Misbah sensed an opportunity to make further inroads and brought in Wahab, who bowled an ideal line from round the stumps in fading light.
Jermaine Blackwood was the first of Wahab’s victims, beaten for pace with an inswinger that crashed into his stumps. One over later, first innings hero Chase perished trying to flick the left-arm pace over mid-wicket, with Nawaz taking a leaping catch.
That left Brathwaite to carry the batting burden of the team once again, as he did in the first innings. Wicketkeeeper Shane Dowrich was giving him excellent company at 36 off 61 balls but he must have given the dressing room some anxious moments close to stumps, going after the Pakistan bowlers.
However, if West Indies do manage to win this Test and finish their tour on a positive note, it would because of Brathwaite’s dogged batting, who has now batted for more than 400 deliveries in the Test without getting out.
1 / 9
2 / 9
3 / 9
4 / 9
5 / 9
6 / 9
7 / 9
8 / 9
9 / 9
