Published: Oct 30, 2016, 07:30 AM (IST)
Edited: Oct 29, 2016, 10:52 PM (IST)
Pakistan faces off West Indies yet once again for the final Test match of the three-match series at Sharjah. This is the ultimate chance for Pakistan to give West Indies the clean sweep across all formats something which will be the penultimate confidence booster for the hosts who have a long Test cricket season ahead. West Indies on the other end, have been just disastrous – yes that is how bad they have been since the time they have landed in the UAE as they lost the Twenty20 International (T20I) series which was followed by the One-Day International (ODI) series and now they have already lost the three-match series having lost the first two Tests and now the third which starts today. FULL CRICKET SCORECARD: Pakistan vs West Indies, 2nd Test at Abu Dhabi
It should be damn right expected from Pakistan that they would be going all guns blazing against the lowly West Indies who are still in search of the first win to at least maintain some pride when they head back home. So there won’t be many changes expected in the starting XI for the hosts as they would be looking to win this final Test. So based on these assumptions, Rohan A.Sawant will try to predict what can be the likely XI for Pakistan.
Top Order – Pakistan is most likely to go with the opening pair of Azhar Ali and Sami Aslam for the third Test. They both played excellent cricket in the first Test but failed in the second Test as they were dismissed cheaply in the first innings. But they made it up for the lack of runs from the first innings in the second innings as they again stood for their team and made sure that they got off to a good start wherein both scored half-centuries. Asad Shafiq should be walking in at No. 3 for the hosts. Shafiq has been the perfect No. 3 for the hosts. His importance was understood back in the England tour where he scored a ton in the final Test. READ: Younis Khan climbs to No. 2 spot in Tests after century vs West Indies
He carried on with his good form in this series and has provided stability to his team whenever needed. The recent being in the first innings of the second Test when the hosts had lost both their openers with just 42 runs on the board. He played quite sensibly in the second innings too resulting in him cementing his place at No. 3. Younis Khan – this name is enough to make any realise how much experience comes in for the hosts. He didn’t play the first Test as he was down with dengue, but he came too strong to bear for someone like West Indies as he scored his 33rd Test century in the first innings of the second Test. If needed I can keep on writing on this man who is one of the best Test cricketers in international cricket right now, but I can’t afford to because I will definitely deviate from the topic that I have started to write on which in this case is the likely Xi for the hosts. ALSO READ: Inzamam-ul-Haq: Saeed Ajmal will be considered for selection based on his form
Middle Order – One could even get out of the charisma that Younis gets in with his batting, Misbah-ul-Haq comes in at No. 5. The oldest skipper in Test cricket right now with 42 years of age and counting just keeps on getting better with every match under his belt. West Indies in the second Test had a ray of hope coming their way that they would be the dominating team in the initial stages of the game. But the partnership between Misbah and Younis of 175 runs literally changed everything for them. So for the obvious reasons, Misbah would be walking in at No. 5 for his team.
Sarfraz Ahmed should be walking in at No. 6 for the hosts. He hasn’t batted much in this series so far but definitely has the credentials to play both attacking and defensive innings going in accordance with the required conditions. He has scored one fifty in the second Test which came at almost 90 + strike rate. He also has been a good behind the wickets as he has been able to gauge the spin bowling from Yasir and Co. without difficulties as he has collected good takes cleanly. Mohammad Nawaz should walk in at No. 7 for Men in Green. He is a well-known all-rounder and has established himself well in the limited overs of the game. When it comes to Test, he still needs to prove himself more as he has got the guidance of someone like Yasir Shah under whom he can be groomed perfectly. He has bowled well whenever given chance but somewhere I personally felt that he was given the third fiddle role in the second Test after Yasir and Rahat Ali. Still, he has played well and Pakistan will look to continue to make him play to make sure that he is 100% ready for tough challenges of New Zealand and Australia.
Lower Order – Yasir Shah has to be on this list for sure. To be frank, if not Yasir, Pakistan would have struggled in the previous two games. Yasir getting 5 wickets in an innings or 10 wickets in a match has become too common to listen to, thanks to his magnificent bowling skills. He knows the perfect solution of how to utilise the assist that the wickets provides the spinners and knows where and how to get any batsman. Wahab Riaz, Sohail Khan and Mohammad Aamer should be the trio leading the pace attack for the hosts. They rested Aamer and Wahab during the second Test but I don’t feel they would want to rest them more as too much of anything and everything won’t do any good to these pacers. Also with the intentions of winning the Test series in the most dominating way, the hosts won’t take any chance to give them rest and also a lot of thinking is bound to be involved keeping in mind the forthcoming Test season for Pakistan.
Zulfiqar Babar can be the surprise inclusion for the final Test instead of Wahab, as he was right on his mark with the shot deliveries in the second Test, but Wahab has a good experience as compared to Zulfiqar and also with someone like Sohail Khan in the squad, the hosts may go with Wahab as he brings is lot of variations along with.
Pakistan likely XI: Sami Aslam, Azhar Ali, Younis Khan, Misbah-ul-Haq (c), Asad Shafiq, Sarfraz Ahmed (wk), Mohammad Nawaz, Wahab Riaz, Yasir Shah, Sohail Khan, Mohammad Aamer
(Rohan A. Sawant is a reporter for CricketCountry. He loves Football, Cricket and is a die-hard Arsenal fan. He is an avid writer and has some knowledge about cricket and so he is trying his best to pour with his Laptop as he finds writing with pen and paper very clumsy. You can follow him on Twitter @iswandering)
