Published: Oct 15, 2016, 10:18 PM (IST)
Edited: Oct 15, 2016, 10:33 PM (IST)
West Indies managed to put up a decent score of 211 for the loss of three wickets at the end of the second session on Day Three of the first ever day-night Test match between Pakistan and West Indies Dubai International Cricket Stadium , Dubai. It was some gritty batting from the visitors lead by Marlon Samuels and Darren Bravo who made sure that they kept the hosts Pakistan at bay from what looked like a one-sided match in the previous two days. Yasir Shah remained the successful bowler for Pakistan as Shah picked 2 wickets and gave away 71 runs. By the end of second session Shah has the figures of 26-11-71-2. FULL CRICKET SCORECARD: Pakistan vs West Indies, 1st Test match
A lot of action was witnessed within the first few overs of the second session. Mohammad Nawaz was been warned officially for running on the pitch.Just when it things were looking to have settled down, Azhar Ali dropped a catch of Marlon Samuels on his own bowling. To be true, it was too difficult of a chance to called as dropped. Samuels shimmied down the track and smashed it straight at him, Azhar didn’t anticipate it well and ended up injuring himself.The blow was soo hard that Azhar had to be taken off the field as he needed some medical attention for the same.It was Samuels who made sure that the visitors did not lose any wickets and that runs came easily for them. A run-out chance was offered by Darren Bravo but the fielder failed to hit the stumps. READ:Pakistan vs West Indies, day-night Test: West Indies reach 138/2 at Tea
That was the only thing that seemed like going Pakistan’s way, but on the other end of the crease, Samuels was making sure that he did not miss any loose deliveries from the Pakistan bowling camp. He showed attacking intent as he would sometimes come dancing down the pitch, which Mohammad Nawaz had to pay the most as he would come down the track and hit consecutive boundaries to Nawaz.
While Samuels was being the attacking one in this partnership, Bravo on the other end was being very calm and just toiling around. Samuels had shifted his batting gears and was smashing the bowlers for boundaries. Eventually, into the game, the pink-ball had started turning more than the usual and Samuels edged some balls against Yasir whom he had taken an attacking role. Seeing the edges, Misbah-ul-Haq was quick to get extra slips for Samuels sensing a wicket-taking opportunity. By this time, Samuels had started milking runs on the flat UAE surface on one end, while Bravo was slowly inching towards his well-deserved half-century.
Things were starting to look little tough for Pakistan as both Samuels and Bravo were looking far more comfortable against the strong Pakistan bowling attack. It seemed like these two would take West Indies to a respectable total by the end of the second session, but completely against the run of play, Sohail Khan was introduced in the attack and was quickly rewarded with the wicket of dangerous looking Samuels. Sohail trapped Samuels in front of the pads against a peach of a delivery. The decision looked dead right as Samuels decided not to review it as he walked back towards the dressing room after a hard-fought battle as he scored 76 runs off 139 deliveries which were laced with 13 cracking boundaries. This wicket also saw the end of an innings stabilising partnership between Samuels and Bravo as they had put a total of 113 runs from long fought 43.3 for the 3rd wicket
West Indies were in a delicate position when Samuels departed and they desperately needed a partnership just like the previous one which would lift them from a tight spot of bother. It was Jermain Blackwood who had walked out to bat at No. 4 and he needed to bat responsibly to make sure that he scored runs and shoulder the responsibility with Bravo who was looking very calm at the other end of the pitch. Yasir Shah was bowling very tight line after the departure of Samuels and he was sticking to the variations that he holds under his sleeves.
It wasn’t as exciting as it should have been, but Pakistan won’t mind the way this session has gone by. This tranquil pitch seems to have decided to offer just one wicket per session because that is how things have gone by so far in8 sessions of this Test so far. The spinners, slowly but steadily, have started to land it on the rough and are extracting good grip and bounce. Samuels missed out on a well-deserved ton. Bravo is battling and so is Jermaine Blackwood who has been tested with sheer pace and bounce from the duo of Sohail Khan and Mohammad Amir.
Brief Scores:
Pakistan 579/3 decl in 145 overs (Azhar Ali 302*, Sami Aslam 90; Devendra Bishoo 2 for 125) against West Indies 211 for 3 (Marlon Samuels 76, Darren Bravo 56*; Yasir Shah 2 for 71) trail by 368 with 7 wickets in hand
