Their backs against the wall to avoid a ‘whitewash,’ West Indies bowlers turned up a determined bunch to take honours on the opening day of the third and final Haier Cup Test match against Pakistan at Sharjah, yesterday.
Down 0-2 in the series and under pressure to walk away with something from this tour, Jason Holder’s men showed fight and reduced Pakistan to 255/8.
Leading the battle were leg spinner Devendra Bishoo (4/74) and fast bowler Shannon Gabriel (3/58). They were able to keep Pakistan at bay, after the home team recovered from losing two wickets in the first over. Sami Aslam 74, skipper Misbah Ul Haq (53), Younis Khan (51) and Sarfraz Ahmed (51), all hit half centuries and threatened to pile on a big score, but the West Indies bowlers stuck manfully to the task.
Bishoo defied a stiff neck to take the field, sending down 19 overs after Jason Holder lost his third consecutive toss and Pakistan opted to bat.
Four balls into the match, Holder might not have been too concerned with having to field, as Gabriel removed both Azhar Ali and Asad Shafiq, both for ducks, with just one run on the board.
Rushing in from the Sharjah Club end with much speed, Gabreil had Ali fending to Kraigg Brathwaite at slip off the second ball and two balls later Asad Shafiq was given not out by the umpire Paul Reiffel, only to make his exit upon a review by Holder, falling leg before. The last time Pakistan had lost more than one wicket in the first over of a Test match was 10 years ago.
A good start for West Indies could have been even better had Marlon Samuels, fielding at cover, hit the stumps at the keeper’s end after Younis set off for a risky single in the second over. Sami Aslam would have been run-out by a distance.
But as both batsmen settled in, they played some lovely shots. Younis timed a half-volley through midwicket for a boundary and followed that up with a gorgeous cover drive a few overs later. Aslam played a beautiful drive through mid-off and unleashed a number of sweeps and slog sweeps. The two put on 106 runs for the third wicket.
Younis had a couple of lucky escapes in the 22nd over. He flicked a full ball from offspinner Roston Chase towards midwicket, where Leon Johnson, still wearing a helmet from his stint at a close-in position, dropped a tough catch. Two balls later, Younis charged out but missed a leg-side delivery; wicketkeeper Shane Dowrich fumbled the ball in his haste to effect the stumping
and the batsman dived back in
to safety.
Chase eventually had his man when Younis, on 51, top-edged an attempted sweep to square leg, where Johnson made amends for his earlier drop.
After tea, all eyes were on Aslam with the fans here wondering if he could finally convert a half century into his maiden Test ton. It was not to be as the left hander played an ill advised reverse sweep of Bishoo and was caught at slip by Holder for 74. He faced 172 balls and struck seven fours and a six.
The reverse sweep again led to Pakistan’s downfall after a solid 80-run partnership between Misbah and wicket keeper Ahmed. The bustling Ahmed and the languid Misbah batted beautifully in the final session and run gathering on a humid Sunday afternoon in Sharjah was easy.
Time and time again, Misbah played the reverse sweep until he got one from Bishoo which was quicker and it ballooned to Dowrich with the score at 230. Bishoo struck again soon after, as a fleet footed Mohammad Nawaz was deceived by a brilliant piece of leg-spin bowling to be stumped for six. The Guyanese lured him down the pitch early in the over with a well pitched up leg-spinner and then slipped in the googly for Dowrich to finish the job.
Towards the end of play, Holder called on Gabriel for one last big effort and the La Romaine man delivered. He sent back Sarfraz for a well played 51 bowled off the inside edge. The right hander faced 60 balls and struck five fours.
SCOREBOARD
WI vs Pakistan
Pakistan inns
A Ali c Brathwaite b Gabriel 0
S Aslam c Holder b Bishoo 74
A Shafiq lbw Gabriel 0
Y Khan c Johnson b Chase 51
M ul Haq c Dowrich b Bishoo 53
S Ahmed b Gabriel 51
M Nawaz st Dowrich b Bishoo 6
W Riaz lbw Bishoo 4
Y Shah not out 1
M Amir not out 6
Extras 4lb, 4nb, 1w 9
Total for 8 wkts 255
Fall of wkts: 1,1, 107, 150, 230, 242, 248, 248.
Bowling: S Gabriel 17-1-58-3 (2nb), A Joseph 15-5-43-0 (2nb, 1w), J Holder 12-4-29-0, R Chase 20-5-47-1, D Bishoo 29-2-74-4.
