Windies’ first innings 344 looked a taller ask before Pakistan batted
Pakistan 266 for 2 (Abdullah Shafique 107*, Babar Azam 86*; Joseph 1-5
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 (1-5, 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.
