Pakistan v West Indies, 3rd Test Day 4: 5 Talking Points

Mickey Arthur, the Pakistan coach had reduced his fingernails to stumps out of sheer nervousness whilst watching Misbah-ul-Haq and his men squander chances. At the other end of the dressing room, Roddy Eastwick’s head was in his hands each time Wahab Riaz or Yasir Shah picked a wicket. While Pakistan has clinched the series 2-0 already, the West Indies have never come so close to winning an overseas Test match in almost two years. While there were many talking points in the day, here are five of the most prominent Talking points that transpired on the day.

1. Devendra Bishoo strikes early on the day

Devendra Bishoo has seemingly become the crisis man in recent times for the West Indies with the ball. Apart from Jason Holder, Bishoo is one of the few players who are capable of making an impact when he does come into the attack. Sure enough, when Holder tossed the ball to the 31-year old leg-spin bowler, Bishoo made the vital breakthrough. Of course, it was a poor shot from Sarfraz Ahmed, but it was taken by Darren Bravo at slip. Bishoo would go on to dismiss Mohammad Nawaz as well when yet another partnership was brewing.

2. Jason Holder completes five-for

As mentioned earlier, Jason Holder has done tremendously well as captain of the West Indies. At 23, Jason Holder is put in a similar position Kim Hughes has put in all those years ago in 1984. However, In spite of all this, Holder has managed to lead by example and impress with some fantastic bowling acumen. The previous day saw Jason Holder break his back to the stump as he claimed three wickets. Holder would go on to picking the wicket of Wahab Riaz and Yasir Shah ensuring that the target was very much chase-able as far as the visitors was concerned.

3. Yasir and Wahab decimate West Indies top-order

Chasing a score of 153 is not the hardest ordeal in the world when it comes to chasing with a day and a half in hand. However, with the fighting spirit of Wahab Riaz and Yasir Shah, this was made a lot harder for the Windies as they began to lose wickets in tandem. While the first two wickets of Darren bravo and Leon Johnson were dismissed in the first two overs, the next few to fall were all trapped by Wahab Riaz. The 32-year old pacer huffed and puffed his way to decimating the top order until Shane Dowrich’s solidity proved a bridge too far.

4. Kraigg Brathwaite stands tall yet again

West Indies vice-captain Kraigg Brathwaite was one of the few batsmen who managed to succeed in such conditions where he was losing batsmen at will. Similar to the first innings where his solidity was the toast of the town, the 23-year old was once again back to his solid best when he slammed 44 from 88 deliveries, something that could potentially be a man of the match performance. He stitched a 47-run partnership with Shane Dowrich, something that also put the Windies in the best possible chance of winnings.

5. Both sides between touching distance of clinching a win

The last time the West Indies won a Test match was in Gros Islet all those years ago in the fall of 2014. However, in spite of all the woes the Windies have faced since then, they now stand on the brink of clinching an important overseas Test win, something they have not won in a long time to say the least. Jason Holder will have to check when he won the last Test match against a quality team such as Pakistan. However, Pakistan also stand on the brink of a win as they require just the five wickets with 39 runs to play.