Windies lose seven wickets after Greaves’ historic fifer

Lower-order pushes WI’s lead past 150 on 14-wicket day

West Indies 311 & 126 for 7 (Chanderpaul 35, Joseph 22*; Abbas 3-14) lead Pakistan 282 all out (Masood 109, Imam-ul-Haq 63; Greaves 5-27) by 155 runs

Despite a historic five-wicket haul from Justin Greaves, the West Indies ended Day 3 against Pakistan staggering against the ropes, having lost seven wickets with an unclassified 155-run second-innings lead. 

Greaves earlier claimed career-best figures of 5 for 27 to help dismiss Pakistan for 282 and hand Windies a 29-run first-innings advantage. Mohammad Abbas then grabbed 3 for 14, alongside Khurram Shahzad (2/36), to steer the contest back in Pakistan’s favour. 

Greaves became the first-ever player in the era of statistics to record five consecutive wicket-maidens, triggering a Pakistan collapse in which the visitors lost their last 7 wickets for 38 runs, momentarily putting the Caribbean side on top. 

Captain Roston Chase (8) later became the 14th and final wicket to fall on the day, edging Shahzad through to wicketkeeper Mohammad Rizwan, leaving the hosts seven down for 93. 

A crucial 33-run unbroken stand between Sharmar Joseph (22*) and Kemar Roach (5*) then lifted West Indies’ lead to 155 on an inconsistent Tarouba pitch. 

The West Indies were 7 for 2 when Kavem Hodge fell to Abbas for a three-ball duck. They then slipped to 28 for 3 when Amir Jangoo (4) was removed by a brilliant return catch from Mohammad Ali. Still, it wasn’t until Shai Hope (10) was bowled by Shahzad going for a big drive at 43 for 4 that the siren started to go off.  

The highest partnership of the innings was the fifth-wicket stand between top-scorer Tagenarine Chanderpaul (35) and Greaves (20). The former was caught taking on the short ball, plunging Windies further into trouble at 80 for 5. 

The West Indies had started the day against a defiant Shan Masood and Salma Agha. The Caribbean bowlers were beginning to hit their straps when bad light ended play last evening. The Pakistani duo batted six crucial balls under the fading lights then, and they returned on Day 3 with a prolonged version of that defiance.

The pair managed to shut Windies out for the first hour of play, pushing Pakistan to within 67 runs of West Indies’ first innings total before Greaves showed up to the maiden fest. 

The medium pacer delivered four consecutive wicket-maidens leading up to Lunch, first bowling Aamer Jamal (3) and then dislodging centurion Masood (109) in consecutive overs, a period in which Pakistan lost three wickets for two runs. 

Greaves followed that up by trapping Ali Usman LBW for nought before having the last recognized batsman, Rizwan, caught behind for 12, as Pakistan ended the morning session losing 5 for 23.

The Barbadian completed his maiden Test five-wicket haul with the scalp of Abbas (0), again without conceding a run, in the first over after the resumption at 267 for nine.  

The other wicket-takers on the day were Joseph, who began the maiden madness by turning Salman Agha (20) inside out with a ripper at 244 for 4, and Roach, who needed only one delivery with the new ball to wrap up Pakistan's innings.