West Indies vs Pakistan 2nd Test - West Indies Player Ratings

It was an important series for both the sides, as the West Indies looked to make their way to the top of the rankings and Pakistan wanted to give the perfect farewell to their senior duo. Pakistan put in a lot of efforts in giving the perfect send off to the senior duo of Younis Khan and Misbah-ul-Haq by winning the first match comfortably.

The second game too looked to go in the same pattern. But as they say, test matches have the twists and turns in them. It seemed like there were few in this Test match too at Barbados. West Indies managed to score 312 in the first innings of the Test before a good batting display from Pakistan gave them a slender lead of 81 going into the second innings. West Indies struggled and managed to score 268 in the second, a score which seemed way above par on this wicket.

Pakistan found yet another way to struggle and enter the nutshell collapsing to 37/7, with a lot of runs separating them from a victory in the second Test. The Pakistan side ended up crashing down at 81 with no wickets to spare.

Here are the player ratings for the victorious West Indies team:

1) Kraigg Brathwaite- 6/10

The opener did not have the best of games in the second Test against the visiting Pakistan side. His first innings score of nine was very disappointing after his drive for a boundary. However, he managed to score a 43 in the second innings, which ultimately was the decisive runs between a victory and a loss for the home side. The opener would look to carry forward his second innings form.

2) Kieron Powell- 6/10

The left-handed opener, on the other hand, had scored 38 runs in the first innings, with some menacing drives on both sides of the field. His second innings stroke was a touch too ambitious which led to his dismissal for just six runs putting the side under some pressure after the Pakistani team’s slender lead over the home side. He perished in the final overs of the penultimate day.

3) Shimron Hetymer- 5/10

The middle-order batsman was arguably one of West Indies most vulnerable batsman in the first innings with a score of just one run. In the second innings, however, the batsman looked aggressive, and the shots looked crisp in his brief stay before getting dismissed by a wonderful delivery from Amir. Hetmyer scored a handy 22 as he gave good company to Shai Hope in the middle for a brief while.

4) Shai Hope- 8/10

Shai Hope’s knock in the second innings was arguably the difference between a loss and a victory for the West Indies. His knock of 90 was arguably the best one would see in the recent times from the West Indies on the toughest of pitches where the ball was doing much of the talking with its turn and swing. It almost seemed like the home side were crumbling under pressure before a calm and assertive innings took the home side bay. He stitched handy partnerships with Roston Chase, Vishaul Singh, and Shimron Hetmyer during his knock.

5) Roston Chase- 7/10

If there was another batsman, who shined alongside Shai Hope it has to be Roston Chase. The right-handed batsman scored a crucial and grinding inning of 131 which was certainly the best that the match had witnessed. He has proven to be the ‘crisis man’ for the West Indies team in the recent times. It certainly looked like the right-hander was batting on a different pitch altogether. Although he could only muster 23 runs in the second inning, his first inning performance was more than enough.

6) Vishaul Singh- 5/10

The management would have hoped of a better knock from the left-handed batsman, who arguably was the most disappointing batsman in the West Indian line-up. Coming in at no.6 it was more than required of the batsman to score a vital yet quick inning against the Pakistani attack. If the left-hander had stayed on for some more time, the match would already have been in the home side’s pocket. In his defense though, he did play a handy cameo of 32 runs in the second innings.

7) Shane Dowrich (wk) – 5/10

Shane Dowrich, just like the other West Indian team failed to capitalise on the opportunities given to him scoring 29 runs and two runs in the two innings. It would take much more from the West Indian to become a regular in the team. The way he had held the fort for the West Indies team in the first Test had given a lot of hopes to West Indies going into this game. But, he had an off time with the bat in both the innings.

8) Jason Holder (c) – 8/10

Jason Holder led the team from the front not only with the bat but also with the ball. The all-rounder scored 58 runs in the first innings, alongside picking up three wickets in both the innings. It was truly a Man of the match performance from the West Indian skipper. He achieved the rare feat of scoring a fifty and then scalping over five wickets in the Test match across the two innings.

9) Devendra Bishoo – 6/10

The leggie was slightly costly in the game, although he picked up three wickets in Pakistan’s first innings giving away 116 runs in his overs. He also contributed to the batting line-up with a total of 34 runs in both the innings. His services with the ball were largely not needed in the second innings. The Windies pacers wer enough to wrap up the game for the hosts.

10) Alzarri Joseph – 7/10

An incredible bowling performance from the youngster Alzarri Joseph, who gave a good support for the other quick bowlers on the pitch. His second inning figures of 2/42 summed up his performance in the match after failing to pick a wicket in the first inning. The numbers do not quite justify the kind of bowling he came up with in the match. He bowled with fire and aggression in the first innings.

11) Shannon Gabriel- 8/10

Shannon Gabriel was under tremendous criticism from the bowling coach after his misery with the no-ball. However, this did not deter the tall and lanky pacer from showing his real worth. He was the pick of the bowlers at Barbados in both the innings.

The bowler picked up four wickets in the first innings and followed it up with figures of 5/11 in the second to round off a remarkable bowling performance. The opening bowler has to go down as the ‘Man of the Match.’