Published: Oct 17, 2016, 10:04 PM (IST)
Edited: Oct 18, 2016, 12:24 AM (IST)
Darren Bravo fired his eighth Test ton in a much needed situation for the side and has steered his side to a good position in the onoing first Test between Pakistan and West Indies at UAE. The match is now balanced with both the teams stranding an equal chance of winning it. Pakistan need six more wickets to win while West Indies need those 114 runs to create an upset. The second session saw couple of more West Indies wickets being fallen while 78 runs were scored by the West Indies batsmen. West Indies stand a solid chance if Bravo plays out the entire next sessison. All the results are possible with a session of game left to be played. LIVE CRICKET SCORECARD: Pakistan vs West Indies, 1st Test at Dubai
Roston Chase, Bravo were battling it out well for West Indies as the former looked determined to get the team over the line. He started playing his shots and was looking good for a fifty when Yasir Shah set him up with a beauty. Chase smashed Yasir for a boundary after which the bowler pulled his length a bit backward as Chase tried ti emulate a similar stroke but missed the ball completely. The ball shattered his stumps as West Indies suffered a huge blow as this partnership was going all god for them. Yasir scalped his first wicket of the innings and provided a much needed breakthrough to the side. Shane Dowrich walked out and had a task in hand.
Moments later, Wahab Riaz steamed in and tested Dowrich with a yorker, which reversed a bit as the batsman had no idea whatsoever and ended up losing his wicket. It was a beauty of a delivery as the stumps were shattered and the moment was a delight to watch for every cricketer. West Indies were in all sorts of trouble as the tail was now open with a fighting Bravo at the other end. It was some superb bowling performance by Wahab and did a magnificent job in putting the pressure on the opposition.
West Indies now have a mountain to climb with the new ball taken. They need to bat out an entire session in order to say the test with just four wickets remaining. They have ample of overs left but they are running out of batsman. Bravo played a splendid knock and his dedication was laudable. He spent enough time at the crease and didn’t let the pressure get the better of him. His knock contained 10 boundaries and a maximum. He has the ability to bat well with the tail and West Indies would certainly want him to stay till the end. Devendra Bishoo can bat and it ill be interesting to see West Indies’ approach, if they would go for the chase or just try to save the Test.
For Pakistan, their pace battery has done most of the damage as West Indies batsmen were cautious against Yasir and attacked him. With the new ball due in few overs, one can expect Wahab and Mohammad Aamer to charge in and get a wicket or two. A draw would be a defeat for the Pakistan as they were in a commendable position at one point.
Earlier in the first session, Darren Bravo and Roston Chase were out in the middle and played the session with unrivaled confidence. They are well capable of creating an upset and carry the team over the line. The match is evenly poised at the moment and West Indies will look to garner another 70-80 odd runs and steer their side to a commanding position. The first session was saw couple of wickets being fallen but Bravo has stood there like a rock.
West Indies suffered an early blow when Mohammad Aamer struck in his very first ball of the day and got rid of Marlon Samuels to kick start the day with a bang. West Indies were in trouble and had to reassess their strategy. It was a huge blow for them as Samuels could have garnered some quick runs and steer them in a good position. Bravo played well at the other end as Jermaine Blackwood got a good start but was undone by Mohammad Nawaz. It was a good review that brought an end to Blackwood’s innings. He went back to a delivery from Nawaz, which struck his back pad and was given not out by the on field umpire as the initial indication showed, it may have gone down the leg but the DRS showed that it would have crashed into the leg stump.
Roston Chase walked out to bat next and did a good job with Bravo to ensure his side didn’t lose another wicket till the end of the session. They bat deep and have some batting to come. West Indies can eye a victory if these two look to add more 100 runs for this partnership. Chase is well capable if playing those big innings and putting the pressure on the opposition as he famously did against India recently in a Test at home. Shane Dowrich, Jason Holder and Devendra Bishoo are well capable of chipping some crucial runs lower down the order and Bravo will certainly think of giving them a chance by building a platform.
For Pakistan, Aameer has been among the wickets and bowled well in the innings so far. One can expect, reverse swing to come into play as the ball gets older, which is where Aamer and Wahab Riaz will be lethal. Yasir Shah had a wonderful outing in the first innings but has not managed to scalp a single wicket in the second innings so far. They need Yasir to do the maximum damage as the surface has great help for the spinners and his counterpart Bishoo did the maximum damage for West Indies. Any result is possible at this stage, but one won’t be wrong in saying that if West Indies play out the next two sessions they will surely win the game.
Brief Scores:
Pakistan 579/3 & 123 all out (Sami Aslam 44, Babar Azam 21; Devendra Bishoo 8 for 49) against West Indies 357 all out & 232/6 (Darren Bravo 102, Leon Johnson 47; Mohammad Aamer 3 for 52).
