West Indies start solidly in their steep chase as a thrilling final day looms
Danyal Rasool23-Aug-2021Stumps The weather on day two and the farce around a damp patch near the pitch on the following day brought out the worst of Test cricket. But on day four, chasing a game to salvage the series and precious World Test Championship points, Pakistan ensured we saw the best of the grand old format, too.Shaheen Afridi, among the brightest stars in world cricket, lit up the contest with a career-best six-wicket haul in the first innings, rolling what was left of the West Indies first innings over in a little more than a session. It allowed Pakistan a lead of 152, and permission to put on their T20 boots as they hurtled to 176 in 27.3 overs, ensuring West Indies would bat for 18 overs. They must now prevent Pakistan from taking nine wickets on Tuesday if they are to cling on to the series. West Indies, mind you, need 280 more runs for a clean sweep, but on the evidence of events on Monday, it seems a tough ask.Watch cricket on ESPN+
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The elements seemed to have conspired to lead this game down the cul-de-sac of a pointless draw, but emboldened by having nothing to lose, Pakistan made it engrossing viewing. Afridi made short work of nightwatchman Alzarri Joseph in the morning, drawing a meaty outside edge that Babar Azam snaffled at third slip.The spell that followed was perhaps Pakistan’s most wayward, with Afridi, in particular, going too far down the leg side as he tried to exploit the angle into the right-hander. Mohammad Abbas prowled and menaced, but through a combination of Jermaine Blackwood’s flamboyance and Nkrumah Bonner’s steel, West Indies were finding a way.Hasan Ali went after the stumps, too, perhaps to exploit Bonner’s tendency to get out bowled or lbw, his mode of dismissal in six of his nine Test dismissals. But it gave away easy runs to fine leg and the pair soon brought up the 50-run partnership for the fifth wicket. At that point, it appeared to be the hosts’ session.Abbas changed all that in two deliveries. Not exactly two, because he had worked on softening Bonner up with inswinging deliveries before moving one away that kissed the outside edge. Kyle Mayers, yet to score a run this series, saw his wait extended by another innings after Abbas went around the wicket and induced him to poke at one.West Indies were suddenly six down and Afridi was steaming in, enjoying a second wind. He went short to Blackwood, and even though the batter pulled him away for four once, he kept plugging away. A beast of a bouncer threatened to lodge up the batter’s nostrils, and as Blackwood desperately fended it off, it flew up towards gully. Fawad Alam took an excellent catch as he leapt to his right, and both set batters had departed.Jason Holder’s exuberance saw Abbas targeted early after lunch, going for two fours and a six off his first seven deliveries. But it was only a matter of time before Afridi got rid of him, the batter coaxed into playing a loose drive that only took a feather off his outside edge. Azam held on to a sharp chance at midwicket to give Afridi his six-for, and Pakistan sprinted out to bat with a spring in their step.Fawad Alam plucked a stunner at gully•Getty Images
Abid Ali and Imran Butt have had difficult tours, but neither worried too much about their personal numbers in the manner they approached the innings. Recognising that time in this Test remains a precious commodity, they got Pakistan off to a flyer, with Abid setting the tone by smashing three boundaries off his first four balls. West Indies, until now impressively consistent with the ball, didn’t help themselves, allowing four byes and as many leg-byes inside the first three overs as the run rate shot up to nine.West Indies are at their best when attacking the batters, but Pakistan’s fast start put them in defensive mode. Jayden Seales went for three more boundaries in his third over, and as negative, wide-line bowling seeped into the hosts’ game, Pakistan continued to press the issue. The openers and Azhar Ali fell before lunch in pursuit of quick runs, but it didn’t stop Pakistan from bringing up the hundred in the 17th over on the stroke of tea.Not that the break offered the hosts any respite. Pakistan continued to go hell for leather as West Indies receded further into defensive, negative tactics. It prompted the umpires to clamp down on wide bowling, but the runs were still flowing freely. Hasan was sent up to bash a few, and Mohammad Rizwan and Faheem Ashraf all joined the fun. When the captain Azam holed out, though, he decided enough was enough, and gave West Indies the last 90 minutes of the day to survive.West Indies’ top order resistance came to the party for the first time, seeing off the new ball. Abbas and Afridi weren’t quite at their spellbinding first-innings best, but Pakistan would still have wanted to break through into the middle order quickly. But Kraigg Brathwaite left everything that wasn’t on the stumps and kept out the rest, while Kieran Powell, fighting for his place in the side, took a cue from his captain and turned out his most assured performance of the series.He would survive for more than an hour in hostile conditions, but no one will ever really remember that for how it ended. A classy cover drive from Brathwaite meant an easy three was on, and while Brathwaite jogged through to the non-striker’s end, Powell was equally blasé at the end the ball was thrown to. Afridi’s lob was headed directly for the stumps, and Rizwan, recognising that, let it go. Powell didn’t bother to ground his bat, and a West Indies partnership Pakistan were struggling to break dissolved all by itself.Unlike Sunday, however, there were no further wickets to fall. Nightwatchman Joseph ended the day as he started it, batting to keep his side in the game, and alongside his captain, lived to fight another day.
