Pakistan v West Indies, 2nd Test, Day 4 Review: West Indies struggle as Pakistan sniffs a series win

Productive performance from the bowlers saw Pakistan end day four of the second Test at Dubai on a winning position. West Indies lost four wickets at regular intervals after being asked to survive the last two sessions of the day after Pakistan asked them to chase an improbable looking 456 runs target to win the match. Resuming to bat at their overnight score of 114/1, Pakistan batted strongly in the first session and declared at 227. West Indies, in response, showed some intent to save the match but their top order was unable to cling on and gave away the advantage to the opposition .

Overnight batsmen Azhar Ali added 27 runs more to his overnight tally before Miguel Cummins got him to nick to slip on 79. But the wicket did not spoil the momentum for Pakistan. Before departing, Ali combined with Asad Shafiq to add quick 50 runs and extend Pakistan’s lead close to 400 runs.

After Ali’s departure, Asad Shafiq and Younis Khan got together for a third-wicket stand of 63 unbeaten runs before Misbah decided that the lead was enough to mess with the minds of West Indies and declared just at the stroke of Lunch. The duo’s effort saw Pakistan’s lead swell up to 455 runs. Shafiq, who had ended at 5, smoothly reached his 16th Test match fifty while Younis ended at 29.

West Indies had a distasteful start as they lost two top order wickets by the time Tea was called. Leon Johnson lost his wicket in the eighth over when he was bowled by Yasir Shah after a failed attempt to sweep a fuller, faster delivery. Bravo looked promising during his brief stay but gifted his wicket to Rahat Ali when he chased a wide delivery and slashed it straight to backward point. Both the wickets fell due to needless shots and one could easily sense what was going through the minds of West Indies fan by through Sir Vivian Richards’ words in the commentary box.

Pakistan continued to dig deep into the batting order as Yasir Shah sent back Marlon Samuels for 23 off his bowling, accepting a simple return catch. Only Kraigg Brathwaite cold salvage some pride and struck his first half-century in the fourth innings of a Test. But, the openers also could not survive till the end of the day and fell lbw to Mohammad Nawaz. Jermaine Blackwood (41) and Roston Chase (17) denied Pakistan any further success and played out the remaining overs as West Indies ended the day on 171 for 4, requiring another 285 to win.

Brief Score:

Pakistan, 1st innings: 452 (Younis Khan 127; S Gabriel 5/96)

West Indies, 1st Innings: 229 all out (Darren Bravo 43; Yasir Shah 4/86)

Pakistan, 2nd innings: 227/2 (Azhar Ali 79; Shannon Gabriel 1/36)

West Indies, 2nd Innings: 171/4 (Kraigg Brathwaite 67; Yasir Shah 2/60)