PAK v WI, 3rd Test Preview: Pakistan eye clean sweep

The first Test of the Pakistan vs West Indies series, also the first day-night Test the two teams ever played was all about Azhar Ali’s historic triple hundred, Darren Bravo’s resilience, determination and courage, Devendra Bishoo’s heroics and Yasir Shah’s spin-web. Pakistan edged past in a close contest and took the game by 56 runs.

Younis Khan having missed out the initial game made a comeback in the second and was immediately in business scoring a century in the first inning. Shannon Gabriel was gutsy and was rewarded with a five-wicket haul, Rahat Ali, Sohail Khan and Yasir then came back to dominated the proceedings and in the end, despite a characteristic effort from Jermaine Blackwood Pakistan won the game by 133 runs.

Now that they lead the series 2-0 the last Test at Sharjah will be a great opportunity for Misbah-ul-Haq and his men to complete a clean sweep in the series after having won the T20I and ODI series 6-0. Jason Holder & Co. have come close on multiple occasions but haven’t quite been able to close the key moments and will definitely want to improve things the last time they take field on this tour of UAE.

Pakistan

Most things have clicked for the Pakistan team, their batsmen have piled on the runs and their bowlers have done the job of bowling out the opposition. Skipper Misbah has been spot on with his moves as well. Their top order fired in the opening game and when they failed in the second the middle order and the lower-order took the responsibility and got them the runs they were looking for.

In the bowling department, Yasir Shah was expected to lead the charge given that the conditions and wicket in UAE assist the slower bowlers and he has kept the West Indies batsmen in check. He picked the most important wicket in the second Test, that of Darren Bravo to seal the game for his team.

The pacers though bowling without much assistance have bowled their hearts out and made sure the Caribbean men haven’t been let off the hook using the conventional and reverse swing . It will once again be an interesting contest as things kick off at Sharjah tomorrow.

West Indies

They weren’t expected to beat the hosts on this tour, given Pakistan is a very strong team across formats and UAE has been sort of a fortress teams like England have failed to breach but given the fact that West Indies is a far superior limited-overs side their performance in the Test series despite the score line should be rated better. Jason Holder & Co. haven’t quite experienced the subcontinent and Pakistan are too good to give them a chance here.

The batsmen especially Darren Bravo deserves a pat on the back for his efforts. Yes, they haven’t quite managed to seize the bigger moments that count but this man has shown a lot of character right through the Test series and will go back a far superior personality having stood against the odds. What they need to do here is get into the act together as a unit. The bowlers need to hunt in pair just Devendra Bishoo or Gabriel delivering alone won’t do the job, there should be support from the other end and similar should be the intentions from the batsmen. Plan together, work out partnerships even the smaller contributions matter in a collective team effort.

The bowlers need to hunt in pair just Devendra Bishoo or Gabriel delivering alone won’t do the job, there should be support from the other end and similar should be the intentions from the batsmen. Plan together, work out partnerships even the smaller contributions matter in a collective team effort.

Probable XI:

Pakistan:

Azhar Ali, Sami Aslam, Asad Shafiq, Younis Khan, Misbah-ul-Haq (C), Yasir Shah, Sarfraz Ahmed (wk), Mohammad Nawaz, Sohail Khan, Zulfiqar Babar

West Indies:

Leon Johnson, Darren Bravo, Marlon Samuels, Kraigg Brathwaite, Jermaine Blackwood, Devendra Bishoo, Roston Chase, Shai Hope (wk), Jason Holder (C), Miguel Cummins, Shannon Gabriel

StatAttack

1. Younis Khan requires 143 runs to complete 1000 Test runs against the West Indies. He will become the third Pakistan player to do this after Mohammad Yusuf and Inzamam ul Haq.

2. The last time West Indies played a Test match at Sharjah was in 2002. They have played here twice lost both the Tests.

3. Misbah-ul-Haq needs 226 runs to complete 5000 Test runs.

4. Marlon Samuels requires 103 runs to complete 4000 Test runs.

5. Shannon Gabriel requires 4 wickets to complete 50 Test wickets.