Published: Oct 16, 2016, 09:46 PM (IST)
Edited: Oct 16, 2016, 11:57 PM (IST)
The second session of Day 4 of the ongoing test between Pakistan and West Indies at UAE saw six wickets being chipped by the visitors. Pakistan lost six wickets in a session out of which five were scalped by Devendra Bishoo, which helped the visitors stage a comeback. At Dinner, Pakistan were precariously placed at 121 for the loss of eight wickets. Though Pakistan have a healthy lead of 343 runs on the board, one can expect West Indies to create an upset as they have enough firepower in their armory to do so. The final session will be an interesting one, as West Indies are pumped and have done a commendable job with the ball and dominated this session. LIVE CRICKET SCORECARD: Pakistan vs West Indies, 1st Test at Dubai
Pakistan after bundling out West Indies for 357, got off to a shaky start as they lost couple of wickets in quick successions before the start of the second session. Babar Azam and Sami Aslam were looking good but Bishoo bowled magnificently to get rid of the former and put pressure on the hosts. He got the ball to turn and exploited the conditions well. Sami Aslam was done by some tremendous catching at the slips by Jermaine Blackwood, he played well for his 44.
Misbah-ul-Haq looked to shift gears when a delivery shattered his stumps as he failed to pick up a googly from Bishoo. This was one gem of a delivery, which outfoxed the Pakistani skipper. Moments later, Bishoo got the better of debutant Mohammad Nawaz for a duck as the ball took a massive turn, which was unexpected. With this dismissal, Bishoo also claimed a fifer and a much needed one. This was undoubtedly the best delivery of the match so far.
Wahab Riaz walked out and never looked comfortable put in the middle. He smashed a boundary after which a well connected shot to Bishoo went straight into the hands of Brathwaite at deep mid-wicket. Wickets kept tumbling from one end while Sarfraz Ahmed was there at the other end. Jason Holder managed to get a top-edge of Yasir Shah’s willow with a bouncer. Dinner was called after the fall of this wicket as Pakistan were in all sorts of trouble.
Pakistan had a healthy lead to their name but failed to get some runs in the second innings. Their application was poor but one just can’t take away any credit for the way Bishoo delivered. A fine display of leg-spin bowling. If they manage to wrap up Pakistan early, West Indies will certainly give themselves a clean chance of winning the Test as they have a day and a session left to be played. The ball is turning and it will be interesting to see how Yasir will bowl as he is a master in these conditions. Barring Sami Aslam none of the Pakistani batsmen managed to get going, which also highlight the way visitors have bowled.
Earlier, West Indies resumed batting on Day 4 with their overnight score of 315 for the loss of six wickets and Shane Downrich, Jason Holder at the crease. They needed 64 more runs to avoid the follow-on, which was also their primary task but Yasir Shah had other ideas. He bowled magnificently and chipped early wickets to put the visitors under the pump. Yasir needed three more wickets to script history and he did so by scalping Dowrich, Holder and Miguel Cummins within the first session.
West Indies were looking good to avoid the follow-on but Yasir got the better of Dowrich early on in the innings. Yasir caught Dowrich leg-before with a beauty of a delivery and provided the team an early breakthrough. Holder was battling it out for the West Indies along with Devendra Bishoo but Yasir removed Holder for 20 as a googly shattered the skipper’s stumps as he played the wrong line. With this, Yasir also moved on to 99 wickets and was just a single scalp away from creating history.
Miguel Cummins was also done and dusted by a top-spinner from Yasir and he celebrates the moment with immense joy and elation. Yasir has numerous records with this outing as he has taken only 17 games to have achieve the 100-wickets milestone. On the contrary, Yasir became the quickest bowler to take 100 Test wickets in last 90 years and quickest Asian bowler overall. He has the taken the least number of Tests to have taken 100 wickets among Asian bowlers as he reached it in 17 Tests, which is better than India’s ace-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin’s record of 18 games. He claimed a fifer in the game and helped his side in dismantling the West Indies side for a mere score of 357.
Mohammad Nawaz his second wicket in the form of Devendra Bishoo as he missed one completely and the pink cherry kisses the off-stump. Pakistan did not impose follow-on and decided to set a target and add runs to their existing lead. It has been a wonderful innings so far and West Indies haven’t done terribly on a surface which had a lot of turn in it.
Pakistan had a healthy lead to their name and took the right decision of not imposing the follow-on and setting a target. Pakistan are surely eyeing for a result but their top-order batsmen have not floundered just before Tea. Shannon Gabriel steamed in and got the better of in form Azhar Ali for early. He was the triple centurion in the first innings and could have well made an impact in the second innings as well. Asad Shafiq too didn’t manage to make an impact as he was removed by Devendra Bishoo. Pakistan have suffered couple of early blows but have enough firepower in their armory. They will look to bat out the next session and post a target close to 400. They have some explosive batting to come and can garner some quick runs in a span of few overs.
Brief Scores:
Pakistan 579/3 & 121/8 (Sami Aslam 44, Babar Azam 21; Devendra Bishoo 6 for 47) against West Indies 357 all out (Marlon Samuels 76, Darren Bravo 87; Yasir Shah 5 for 121).
