Tea Pakistan 387 all out (Shafique 160*, Babar 88, Warrican 6-112) lead West Indies 344 all out (Greaves 73, Chase 70, Sajid 4-85) by 43 runs
Pakistan’s tail has not contributed much of late, but in Sajid, they have one of their most adept lower-order batters. Alongside Shafique, who grew in confidence and looked impregnable for much of the day, Sajid held his end of the bargain, frustrating West Indies as Pakistan got up to, and past, the hosts first innings score. He was at the other end when Shafique pranced down the track and regally lofted Kavem Hodge over his head for the no-look six that brought up his 150, and at that stage West Indies looked out of ideas.
Jayden Seales eventually broke through when a stray Sajid cut nicked through to the keeper. Shafique finished the over off with a four, and would perhaps have been better served preserving the strike and controlling the run-scoring, particularly given the vulnerability of the tail.
He took a single off Warrican with four deliveries to go in the 115th over, and the West Indies spinner drew Ali Usman into a slog that found deep cover. Two balls later, he had a five-wicket haul as he skidded through Ubaid Shah’s gate, and repeated the feat first ball against Mohammad Ali to finish with six, and keep West Indies’ batters in the game.
It turned out this morning that Pakistan’s dreaded collapse was merely delayed, not actually thwarted. In a self-destructive session, engineered by West Indies’ vastly improved discipline with the new ball, Pakistan chucked away much of the good work Shafique and Babar Azam had done in last night. They lost four wickets as run-scoring ground to a standstill, adding just 67 runs in 29 overs.
The first half hour saw Seales and Warrican starve Pakistan of runs by consistency landing their lines. Babar, so positive the previous day, was reticent this morning, adding just 2 runs in 21 deliveries before inexplicably heading off for a single to a packed cover field. Shafique eventually turned him away, but Brandon King picked up sharply and effected a direct hit to catch the Pakistan captain out. It injured King in the process, who required a stretcher to wheel him away, but there was a spring in his teammates’ step.
Warrican continued to stifle Pakistan, and got his rewards when debutant Awais Zafar showed every bit of his inexperience as he danced wildly down the wicket, failed to get to the pitch of the ball and swung anyway. It rattled his leg stump, but West Indies were only halfway through. Shamar Joseph set Salman Agha up beautifully, moving one out before nipping the next one into his pads square in front; Pakistan had lost three wickets for five runs.
Mohammad Rizwan, alongside the unflappable Shafique, offered resistance for a while, but without a sense that momentum could actually turn. West Indies had taken the new ball but trusted Warrican with it, and he deceived Rizwan with an arm ball that kept low and crashed into his stumps. Sajid and Shafique’s resistance meant the collapse wasn’t as dramatic as it was in the first Test, but even so, Pakistan had lost their last 8 for 106.
Danyal Rasool is Cricinfo’s Pakistan correspondent. @Danny61000
