The all-rounder made 60 before retiring hurt while Yasir Shah took three wickets as West Indies compiled 218/5 off 100 overs in response to Pakistan's 376.

By Abdullah Ansari (12th May, 2017)

Toss: West Indies won the toss, Jason Holder chose to field first.

Teams

West Indies: KC Brathwaite, KOA Powell, SO Hetmyer, SD Hope, VA Singh, SO Dowrich†, RL Chase, JO Holder*, D Bishoo, AS Joseph, ST Gabriel

Pakistan: Azhar Ali, Shan Masood, Babar Azam, Younis Khan, Misbah-ul-Haq*, Asad Shafiq, Sarfraz Ahmed†, Mohammad Amir, Hasan Ali, Yasir Shah, Mohammad Abbas

The day commenced with the Pakistani new-ball pair of Amir and Abbas bowling to the West Indian openers. After a couple of boundaries in the first couple of overs, scoring slowed down considerably as the batsmen looked to stick it out. The bowlers bowled good lines but the batsmen were patient though Amir almost managed to get a yorker through Brathwaite's defences. Yasir replaced Amir in the attack as the first-change bowler but soon switched ends as Hasan also came into the attack. The change of ends worked as Powell threw it away after making 31, getting caught in the deep. Hetmyer was aggressive to start while Brathwaite continued his dogged display at the other end. Hetmyer brief knock came to an end as he looked to clip one down the leg-side off Yasir and was caught by Sarfraz. Yasir continued to threaten while Hasan bowled an economical spell. On the stroke of lunch, a superb delivery from Yasir brought Brathwaite's fight to an end as he edged behind after making 29 off 123 balls with the score at 97/3.

Chase came out to bat and looked like one of the only batsman capable of playing positively on this pitch. Yasir continued to threaten while Hasan began to get some reverse-swing with the old ball but Hope and Chase were solid with the latter focused on his water-tight defence. Chase was given out sweeping the ball as Younis took a smart catch but the batsman reviewed and replays showed that he didn't get bat on it, and the decision was overturned. There was a chance for Shafiq as Hope cut a delivery from Yasir towards him but he couldn't hold on to the difficult catch. Amir came to bowl an extremely tight spell and Hope used his powers of concentration to march on despite minimal runs on offer. Azhar was brought into the attack for a few overs before tea and the move paid off as Hope looked to drive on the off-side but only lobbed a catch to Misbah after making 29 off 116 balls with the score at 152/4.

Chase soldiered on with the newcomer Singh after the resumption and soon the new ball was available after an uneventful few overs. Chase got a couple of boundaries off Abbas and got to his fifty. Amir looked dangerous with the new ball and in his second over, he struck Chase on the elbow with a sharp delivery. The batsman was in visible pain and despite treatment, was unable to continue, retiring hurt for 60. Singh's struggle in the series continued as he was trapped LBW at the crease once again by Abbas. Dowrich and Holder continued in a similar manner, looking to play at a leisurely pace as Misbah rang the bowling changes late in the day. None of them yielded any success as West Indies ended the day at 218/5 off 100 overs.

Summary: A very low-scoring day by the recent standards of Test cricket but West Indies are likely to be pleased with the outcome. Despite trailing by 158 runs, they are in a decent position to play for a draw if they can bat out another session or so. Pakistan would've been pleased by the first session but almost went wicketless in the second until Hope's dismissal towards the end. The visitors had a chance to strike some vital blows and hurt West Indies but couldn't manage it in the final session with the batsmen holding on. With Dowrich and Holder at the crease and Chase a possibility to return, West Indies will be hopeful of eliminating the chance of a Pakistan win on Day 4 by batting for as long as possible. 

Fall of wickets: 

1-43 (Powell, 26.6 ov)
2-69 (Hetmyer, 30.6 ov)
3-97 (Brathwaite, 43.1 ov)
4-152 (Hope, 71.6 ov)
4-183* (Chase, retired not out, 83.3 ov)
5-189 (Singh, 86.2 ov)

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