West Indies v Pakistan, 1st Test, Day 3 Review: Fifties from Younis, Babar Azam put visitors in command

After a rain-curtailed second day, action moved to the third day in the first Test between West Indies and Pakistan at the Sabina Park. The bright skies awaited the players on the day and it was good news for the players as well. West Indies resumed their overnight score of 278/9 with Jason Holder and Shannon Gabriel at the crease. Holder was looking good post his fifty and was expected to add a few crucial runs before the team was bundled out.

However, West Indies could only add 8 runs on the day. The Pakistan bowlers took just 2.3 overs with the ball to get rid of the last batsman. Mohammad Amir cleaned up Gabriel on 5 to complete his six-for for the match. He finished with figures of 6/44 as the hosts posted 286 in their first innings. Skipper Jason Holder remained unbeaten on 57 off 75 deliveries with 7 fours and 2 sixes to his name.

In walked the Pakistani openers Azhar Ali and Ahmed Shehzad to kickstart the proceedings on the day for the visitors. Both looked calm at the onset and negotiated the new ball well. Ali, who started off with a couple of fours, lost his patience a little too early. It was in the 6th over of the innings when Alzarri Joseph managed to get past his outside edge. He was dismissed on 15 that came off 19 deliveries with 2 fours to his name.

Babar Azam joined Shehzad at the crease. While Azam took his time to settle in, Shehzad had already found his feet moving at the crease. Shehzad hit 5 boundaries in his 50-ball 31 before before being dismissed lbw by Jason Holder in the 17th over of the innings. In walked the big man of Pakistan cricket, Younis Khan. The veteran batsman joined hands with Babar Azam to give solidity to the innings.

Both batsmen batted very patiently to keep the hosts toiling hard on the field. The run rate went down but the wickets did not fall apart. A 131 run stand between the two players came of 302 deliveries for the 3rd wicket. The partnership certainly frustrated the Windies bowling attack. En route the century stand, both batsmen notched up their individual fifties as well.

The partnership was eventually broken when Gabriel was brought back in to the attack. He managed to get Younis caught by Kraigg Brathwaite on 58 that came off 138 deliveries. An over later, Gabriel dismissed the other set batsman as well. He got through the defenses of Babar Azam who was looking very good for his 72 that came off 201 balls with 8 fours and a six.

Skipper Misbah Ul Haq and Asad Shafiq then had the task of seeing the last session through. Both of them remained unbeaten on identical scores of 5 from 35 balls each to see Pakistan finish the day 3 with 201/4.

Earlier in the game, Misbah had won the toss and opted to field first. The West Indies batting was dented by the Pakistani pacers. They were reeling at 71/5 at one stage before Roston Chase and Shane Dowrich put on 118 run stand to bail out the hosts from trouble. Both were dismissed by Yasir Shah. Jason Holder scored a fifty to keep the scorecard ticking but a 6-wicket haul from Mohammad Amir kept the hosts in check.

Brief Scores 

West Indies 1st innings 286 in 95 overs (Roston Chase 63, Shane Dowrich 56, Mohammad Amir 6/44, Yasir Shah 2/91)

Pakistan 1st innings 201/4 in 78.2 overs (Azam 72, Younis 58, Gabriel 2/37, Joseph 1/35)

Check out – Full scorecard here.