West Indies worn down by Shafique, Babar 168-run stand

Windies’ first innings 344 looked a taller ask before Pakistan batted

Pakistan 266 for 2 (Shafique 107*, Babar 86*; Joseph 1-58) trail West Indies 344 (Greaves 73, Chase 70; Sajid 4-85) by 78 runs 

The West Indies have been left on the defensive after a spectacular 168-run unbroken third-wicket stand between Abdullah Shafique and Babar Azam, which trimmed the Caribbean side’s first-innings advantage to 78 runs with eight wickets remaining. 

Shafique notched a brilliant fifth Test ton to lead Pakistan’s response. He and captain Babar Azam (86*) came together with the score 98 for two and saw the visitors through to close of play at 266 without further loss.

The West Indies attack, which has been missing Justin Greaves, whose thigh was heavily padded while batting, has been largely ineffective, with two of their premier seamers, Kemar Roach (0-35) and Shamar Joseph (1-58), conceding at over five runs per over.

Joseph is the only member of their pace trio who delivered double-digit overs of the 66 bowled, with Jayden Seales bowling nine and Roach just six. Pakistan, in the meantime, have reaped the rewards of an aggressive start. After wearing down the Windies bowlers, they cruised through a wicketless final session to end the day on top. 

Pakistan cantered through the second session on what was, evidently even at that time, the best of the Queen’s Park pitch. Despite Joseph bouncing out Imam-ul-Haq (14), the visitors’ momentum was only momentarily halted as they translated their fast start into the pace of their innings.

There was no sign of the struggles endured by the Windies batsmen while facing spin. Shafique in particular made it a point to target Jomel Warrican, who bowled 24 overs, clearing the rope against Windies’ orthodox spinner a couple of times. 

Through this attacking intent, Pakistan followed up the 34-run opening partnership with a quick 64-run second-wicket stand (80 balls) between Azan Awais, who brought up a 61-ball fifty, and Shafique. 

The testing deliveries from the Caribbean bowlers, in the meantime, were crammed between boundary balls, as the visitors scored 139 runs at 4.34 runs per over in the afternoon session for the additional loss of Awais (55).

West Indies’ 344 looked a taller ask before Pakistan batted. They began the day on 239 for 5 and added 105 runs in an extended morning session before being dismissed on the stroke of lunch. 

They were still 31 runs shy of the 300-mark when Justin Greaves was dismissed for 73, cutting Ali Usman straight to the point fielder after adding just nine to his overnight score. Continuing a recent trend, however, the Caribbean side once again found useful partnerships at the latter end of their batting lineup. 

Kemar Roach joined Roston Chase and the pair put on 35 for the seventh wicket. Chase converted his overnight 36 into a half-century, ensuring Windies crossed 300 before he was bowled through the gate by debutant Ubaid Shah for 70 with the score 304 for seven.

The last four partnerships added 75 runs for the West Indies, with a portion of Roach's 19 coming in a crucial partnership of an identical sum for the eighth wicket alongside Shamar Joseph (8).

The final pair, Jomel Warrican (5*) and Jayden Seales (8), then put on 18 to close out the innings.