Kraigg Brathwaite and Shane Dowrich put up unbeaten 47-run stand after Yasir Shah and Wahab Riaz took five quick wickets in chase of 153.

By Abdullah Ansari (2nd November, 2016)

Toss: Pakistan won the toss, Misbah-ul-Haq chose to bat first.

Teams

Pakistan: Sami Aslam, Azhar Ali, Asad Shafiq, Younis Khan, Misbah-ul-Haq (c), Mohammad Nawaz, Sarfraz Ahmed (wk), Yasir Shah, Zulfiqar Babar, Mohammad Amir, Wahab Riaz.

West Indies: KC Brathwaite, LR Johnson, DM Bravo, MN Samuels, J Blackwood, RL Chase, SO Dowrich (wk), JO Holder (c), D Bishoo, ST Gabriel, AS Joseph.

Pakistan began the day on the front foot as Sarfraz hit a couple of boundaries as the two batsmen built the partnership. Not a lot of assistance was available for the bowlers but they bowled tight lines as Azhar and Sarfraz survived the initial hour. West Indies finally had the wicket of Sarfraz as he went after a very wide delivery from Bishoo, only succeeding in edging to slip for 42. Nawaz came to bat under immense pressure and took his time, primarily focusing on defence as the batsmen made it through the rest of the session without further loss.

A few overs into the second session, West Indies had the breakthrough as Nawaz was caught at short leg via an inside edge off Bishoo. Amir was put down almost immediately but then the visitors got the big wicket, that of Azhar Ali for 91. He shaped to sweep but then decided to play it into the off-side, only succeeding in giving as easy catch to slip. Amir succumbed to a comical run out thanks to a brilliant piece of fielding by Chase, which led to the batsman losing his bat and failing to make it back to his crease. Wahab was next as he flicked a delivery from Holder straight to short leg. Zulfiqar went after Bishoo with a couple of lusty blows but Yasir got out to Hoder, dismissed LBW for the bowler's fifth wicket as Pakistan were bowled out for 208, leaving West Indies a target of 153.

Pakistan had a horror start as Misbah grassed a simple chance in Amir's first over at slip and in his next over, it was Sami Aslam who put down another chance. West Indies batted through the other overs, reaching tea at 23/0.

The second over of the last session brought renewed hope for Pakistan as Yasir came on to bowl and prompty trapped Johnson LBW. In his next over, he had Bravo caught behind with some wonderful bowling. The third wicket came a few overs later as Samuels went for a big shot down the ground, getting caught. By now, the match had come to life and in the next over, Wahab came on to bowl and shattered Blackwood's stumps with a good-length delivery. In his next over, he had Chase caught at mid-wicket, leaving West Indies at 67/5. However, the immovable Brathwaite was joined at the crease by Dowrich and the partnership flourished after a slow initial start. Pakistan's bowlers kept coming as a review was taken but it didn't pay off as the batsmen added 47 runs to finish the day at 114/5, leaving West Indies requiring 39 more runs.

Summary: A poor day overall for Pakistan despite the tremendous fight shown by the bowlers after Tea. Mickey Arthur will no doubt be disappointed by the dismissals with almost all batsmen getting out to bad shots. The catching was shambolic at the start as well, as it looked like Pakistan would lose in a hurry. However, the bowlers struck back to give Pakistan some hope. West Indies are favourites going into the last day but if Pakistan can get an early wicket, you never know. Kraigg Brathwaite continues to be a thorn in the Pakistani side as he guides the visitors towards victory.

Fall of wickets:

5-134 (Sarfraz Ahmed, 54.2 ov)
6-175 (Mohammad Nawaz, 72.4 ov)
7-189 (Azhar Ali, 76.5 ov)
8-192 (Mohammad Amir, 78.6 ov)
9-193 (Wahab Riaz, 79.4 ov)
10-208 (Yasir Shah, 81.3 ov)

1-29 (Johnson, 7.3 ov)
2-35 (Bravo, 9.5 ov)
3-57 (Samuels, 19.1 ov)
4-63 (Blackwood, 20.6 ov)
5-67 (Chase, 22.4 ov)

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