- Abbas’ five-wicket haul helped Pakistan dismiss WI for 181.
- Pakistan are off to a shaky start to a 211-run chase against the West Indies.
- At lunch on day 4, the Green Shirts are staggering at 28/3.
TAROUBA: West Indies recorded an impressive 90-run win over Pakistan in the opening Test on Tuesday, bowling out the visitors for 120 while defending a target of 211 to take a 1-0 lead in the two-match series at the Brian Lara Cricket Academy.
Pakistan resumed their chase after Tea at 114/9, with captain Babar Azam and No. 11 Mohammad Abbas unbeaten on 53 and 22 respectively, and could only add six more runs before Seales trapped Abbas lbw in the second over after the break.
Babar remained Pakistan’s top scorer with an unbeaten 58 off 107 deliveries, while Abbas made a challenging 23 off 33 balls. Wicketkeeper-batsman Mohammad Rizwan was the only other Pakistani batsman to reach double figures, scoring 11 during a 21-run fourth-wicket partnership with Babar.
Seales led the West Indies bowling attack in the second innings with excellent figures of 5/20 from 14.2 overs. Kemar Roach and Justin Greaves claimed two wickets each, while Shamar Joseph took one.
Earlier, Babar and Rizwan continued cautiously after Tea, adding 21 runs for the fourth wicket before Justin Greaves bowled Rizwan in the sixth over of the session.
After Rizwan’s dismissal, Pakistan lost five wickets for the addition of just 25 runs and dropped to 71/9.
Babar was then joined by Abbas, and the pair shared an unbroken 49-run stand before the last wicket, in which the Pakistan captain brought up his 32nd Test half-century to guide his side past the 100-run mark.
Earlier in the day, Pakistan made a disappointing start to their chase as Kemar Roach had seen opener Imam-ul-Haq (3) fall behind in the third over with just five runs on the board.
Rising opener Azan Awais (3) briefly squared off alongside Babar in a 16-run partnership for the second wicket before Jayden Seales caught him behind in the sixth over.
Seales struck again in his next over, trapping Salman Ali Agha lbw for a duck, leaving Pakistan struggling at 25/3.
At the start of the fourth and final day, West Indies resumed their second innings at 126/7, adding a valuable 55 runs for their remaining three wickets.
After securing a slim lead of 29 runs in the first innings after posting 311 and dismissing Pakistan for 282, the hosts set the visitors a target of 211 to win the series opener.
Lower order batters Shamar Joseph and Kemar Roach, who resumed the innings overnight, continued to frustrate the Pakistani bowlers by extending their partnership to 61 runs.
Right-arm pacer Mohammad Ali finally made the breakthrough in the fifth over of the day, misleading Joseph with a slower delivery. The left-hander top-scored for the West Indies with a solid 38 off 27 deliveries, including four sixes and a four.
Roach finally fell to Abbas in the 53rd over after lobbed a simple catch to Babar Azam at short cover. He scored a patient 18 out of 63 deliveries.
No. 10 batsman Jomel Warrican added to Pakistan’s frustration with a quick 14 off 20 balls before Abbas bowled him to finish with excellent figures of 5/22 from 15.5 overs.
Abbas was well supported by fellow pacers Mohammad Ali and Khurram Shahzad, who claimed two wickets each, while Aamir Jamal bagged one.
