Pakistan vs West Indies, 3rd Test Day 1: 5 Talking Points

The 3^rd match of the Test series between Pakistan and West Indies moved to the historic stadium of Sharjah. Pakistan was once again the favourite before the start of the game having dominated the visitors in the first 2 Tests. But for West Indies, it was a matter of pride as they looked for some redemption in the final Test.

Pakistan won the toss and decided to bat first but got off to the worst possible start. Both the openers were dismissed in the very first over. Sami Aslam and Younis Khan then combined well to give the innings stability after the early losses. After their departure, Misbah-ul-Haq and Sarfaraz followed with good fifties.

The West Indies bowlers need to be praised for their efforts as they were at the batsmen all day. Initially, Shannon Gabriel and then Devendra Bishoo gave regular blows to the Pakistan line-up which was looking good to get another big first innings score in the series. Bishoo picked up 4 wickets and Gabriel got 3 as Pakistan finished the day at 255/8.

Here are the 5 major talking points from the first day’s play:

Early blows from Shannon Gabriel:

The fast bowler provided a great start for West Indies when he got Azhar Ali out caught at second slip off the second ball of the match. The pitch had some bounce on offer and a short delivery outside off accounted for the opener’s wicket. Two balls later, he struck again and this time, he trapped Asad Shafiq in front of the wickets and left Pakistan tottering at 2 wickets without a run on the board. Gabriel came back late in the day to dismiss Sarfaraz Ahmed for 51 when he dismantled the stumps of the batsman.

Aslam-Younis partnership revived the innings:

After the 2 quick blows in the first over, Pakistan was struggling against the fast bowlers. Then Sami Aslam and the veteran Younis Khan got together and built a solid partnership. The duo ensured no further loss to the innings and took the team safely to the Lunch break. They carried on even after that and shared a 100 runs partnership before Younis was dismissed for 51 when the team’s score was 107. Aslam went on to score 74 runs before holding out to Bishoo in the 55^th over.

Misbah-Sarfaraz stabilised the batting:

After the dismissal of Sami Aslam, Pakistan was again in a spot of bother at 150/4. Another good partnership then took place, this time between the skipper Misbah-ul-Haq and the wicket-keeper Sarfaraz Ahmed. They added 80 runs for the 5^th wicket and were contrasting each other beautifully. Where Sarfaraz was scoring quick runs, Misbah was intent on occupying the crease. Both reached their half-centuries but got out soon as West Indies pulled things back.

Bishoo inflicted a comeback:

The leg-spinner has had a decent run in the series so far having picked up 11 wickets in the first 2 Tests. He kept the pressure on in this innings from one end and struck vital blows. He first accounted for Sami Aslam’s wicket who was inching towards his century. Then he sent back the skipper Misbah and followed it up with wickets of Mohammad Nawaz and Wahab Riaz to script a comeback for West Indies late in the day.

Misbah joined the club of most runs as skipper in Tests:

The Pakistani skipper has been a great servant to the nation for quite some time and he achieved another record as he got himself into an elite club of top 10 run-getters in Test cricket as captains. His innings of 53 helped him surpass Michael Atherton and moved to number 10 on the list. He is also the only Pakistani featuring amongst the top 10 on the list. This was his 49^th match as Test captain for Pakistan.