In Multan, West Indies need 6 more wickets to level the series with a win in the second Test.
Late in the day, a ball from South Shakil, touched by the bat and then the boot, was not caught by keeper Tevin Imlakh, marking the third dropped catch for the West Indies in the innings. Despite this, they left the field with smiles. Having already taken four wickets, their chances of securing a Test win in Pakistan, after more than three decades, look much brighter now.
West Indies need just 6 wickets to win the second Test in Multan and level the series. Pakistan, on the other hand, requires 178 more runs to secure the win.
Set a challenging target of 254 runs in a spin-friendly wicket, Pakistan ended day two at 76/4.
So far, West Indies have won only four Tests in Pakistan, the last being in November 1990 under Desmond Haynes’ captaincy, with players like Gordon Greenidge, Malcolm Marshall, Curtly Ambrose, Courtney Walsh, and Ian Bishop. Apart from Kemar Roach, none of the West Indies players in the current Test had even been born then.
On the first morning, West Indies were dismissed for 163 after losing 7 wickets for 38 runs, yet managed a small first-innings lead of 9 runs, thanks to the spin department. In their second innings, on Sunday, captain Craig Brathwaite’s fifty and contributions from the lower order helped them reach 244 runs.
Off-spinner Sajid Khan and left-arm spinner Nauman Ali both took 4 wickets each. Nauman, who took a hat-trick on day one, ended up with 10 wickets in the match, becoming the oldest player to achieve this for Pakistan.
Pakistan’s spinners combined for 38 wickets in the series, marking the third-highest total for any team’s spinners in a two-Test series.
Chasing the target, Pakistan were under pressure early, losing both openers in the first three overs. Off-spinner Kevin Sinclair dismissed Shan Masood LBW on his first ball, and left-arm spinner Gudakesh Motie followed suit by getting Mohammad Huraira LBW on a reverse sweep.
Motie almost claimed another wicket off Kamran Ghulam but Justin Graves couldn’t catch the ball in the gully. In the next over, Motie couldn’t take a return catch from Babar Azam, though it was a tough chance.
The two batsmen who got lifelines tried to resist. However, a poor shot from Kamran Ghulam, who went for a big shot against left-arm spinner Jomel Warrican, led to his dismissal. Later, Babar (31 off 76 balls) was dismissed by Sinclair, caught at short leg.
Shakil (13*) and nightwatchman Kashif Ali (1*) ended the day with Pakistan at 76/4, needing 178 more runs to win.
Earlier, Brathwaite’s 50 off 57 balls was supported by Mikhail Louis (7) and Amier Zangur (30), but West Indies lost wickets quickly thereafter, and at one point, were 145/6 after starting with 106/2. Lower-order resistance brought the total to 244, with Imtakh (35) and Sinclair (28) contributing key runs.
Later, Motie and Warrican also impressed with the ball, giving West Indies a real shot at a historic win.
Score Summary:
- West Indies 1st Innings: 163
- Pakistan 1st Innings: 154
- West Indies 2nd Innings: 244/9 (Brathwaite 52, Louis 7, Zangur 30, Hodge 15, Athanage 6, Graves 10, Imlakh 35, Sinclair 28, Motie 18, Warrican 18, Roach 4*; Sajid 24.1-47-4, Kashif 6-2-23-1, Nauman 21-0-80-4, Abrar 15-1-45-1)
- Pakistan 2nd Innings: 76/4 (Masood 2, Huraira 2, Babar 31, Kamran 19, Shakil 13*, Kashif 1*; Motie 7-1-25-1, Sinclair 11-0-41-2, Warrican 6-4-3-1)
