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| November 27, 2006 | Monday | Ziqa'ad 5, 1427 |
West Indies seek elusive win to square series
KARACHI, Nov 26: West Indies have two clear objectives in mind when they face Pakistan in the third and final Test, starting at the National Stadium on Monday.
Their first target is to end an abysmal record by winning here and to share the series. In the past 30 Tests, West Indies have won just two times and lost 19, but crucially, their performance away from the Caribbean Isles is more dismal with mere one win and 15 defeats in the last 20 matches.
Overall, West Indies have not defeated a major Test side in an overseas series for six years and have yet to win this year in nine Tests. The only nations they conquered in this period have been Zimbabwe and Bangladesh, the two minnows of Test cricket.
The second task lying before Brian Lara’s men is to preserve Viv Richards’ 30-year-old world mark of 1710 runs in a calendar year by denying Mohammad Yousuf the remaining 149 runs to overhaul the legendary West Indian.
Yousuf, the leading run-getter in the current series with 439 runs, has so far amassed 1562 runs this year in 10 Tests and another century here would make the 32-year-old run-machine from Lahore with most centuries in a calendar year with eight.
Lara almost mirrors Yousuf with his best-ever series in Pakistan; 399 runs in three innings and who can bet on the little genius not scoring a further 96 to become the first man in Test history with 12,000 runs under his belt. Another three-figure knock would sit the 37-year-old Trinidadian alongside India’s Sachin Tendukar as Test cricket’s most scorer of centuries (35).
Lara it was who alone set alight last week’s second Test in Multan with that fantastic 216 — falling two of Rohan Kanhai’s West Indian record in this country — which enabled West Indies to put Pakistan under pressure in the second innings.
Inzamam-ul-Haq, the Pakistan captain, is probably under more pressure than anyone of his team-mates right now with only 41 runs in this series. His best score in the last eight innings has been 37 against England at Headingley and hasn’t scored a century since he hit 119 against India at Faisalabad 10 months ago.
However Inzamam is one man who thrives on challenges as he had done on numerous occasions in his glittering career, notably when he roared back with a tremendous match-winning 138 against Bangladesh in Multan slightly over three years ago.
That knock not only resurrected Inzamam’s international future, but also earned him the Pakistan captaincy which he has kept ever since. The big man needs one big slice of luck to come good at last in ideal cricketing conditions.
Even though the exterior match pitch appearance suggests batsmen dominating, but pace bowlers normally enjoy themselves at National Stadium because of sideway seam movements, particularly during the morning and evening sessions.
Pakistan might contemplate reviving Mohammad Sami’s Test career since his extra pace could unsettle Lara despite the paceman’s modest career record (73 wickets in 28 Tests at 48.36 per scalp).
The question is who will sit it out? Odds were heavily against Abdul Razzaq to make way for Sami until he came to Pakistan’s rescue with 80 in the second innings at Multan.
Moreover Razzaq does relishes playing in Karachi where earlier this year he decimated the much-publicized India batting line-up with seven wickets and scores of 45 and 90. Keeping these statistics in mind, Pakistan are likely to retain the same XI for the third time running.
But Pakistan must play in a positive frame of mind. Their batsmen have to bear in mind the conditions here could suit both Jerome Taylor and Corey Collymore more.
Taylor, the 22-year-old from Jamaica, has been the bowler of the series with 11 wickets. Figures don’t justify how well Collymore (three wickets) has bowled in tandem with Taylor.
Had West Indians been not generous in the field to the home side, the 28-year-old Barbadian would have easily matched Taylor’s tally of victims.
West Indies are certain to make one change. Ramnaresh Sarwan, who was a surprise exclusion in Multan, is poised to replace Runako Morton.
Pakistan, on the other hand, have so far relied on just three specialist bowlers — Umar Gul, Shahid Nazir and Danish Kaneria who have taken 26 wickets between them — but with the series still alive, the option of playing Sami remains in the game-plan.
Pakistan were fortunate to win the first Test in Lahore only after Lara’s gamble of batting first backfired and substandard umpiring from Asoka de Silva of Sri Lanka turned the tide in favour of Pakistan.
The conditions in Karachi virtually guarantee maximum playing time with the last five Tests all producing conclusive results. West Indies can win and are well aware of Pakistan’s outstanding track record at National Stadium — 20 wins in 38 Tests with only one defeat — but anything can happen over the next five days. A West Indies win would a perfect sendoff for Lara in surely his last Test appearance against Pakistan.
The metrological report points to the first three days of Karachi Test being sunny with partly cloudy conditions forecast for the remaining days.
The match starts at 10.00am.
Teams (from):
PAKISTAN: Mohammad Hafeez, Imran Farhat, Younis Khan, Mohammad Yousuf, Inzamam-ul-Haq (captain), Shoaib Malik, Abdul Razzaq, Kamran Akmal, Shahid Nazir, Umar Gul, Danish Kaneria, Mohammad Sami, Faisal Iqbal, Yasir Hameed, Samiullah Niazi.
WEST INDIES: Chris Gayle, Daren Ganga, Ramnaresh Sarwan, Brian Lara (captain), Shivnarine Chanderpaul, Dwayne Bravo, Denesh Ramdin, Dave Mohammed, Daren Powell, Jerome Taylor, Corey Collymore, Runako Morton, Fidel Edwards, Omari Banks, Lendl Simmons.Umpires: Daryl Harper (Australia) and Mark Benson (England).
TV umpire: Riazuddin (Pakistan).
Fourth umpire: Rasheed Bhatti (Pakistan).
Match referee: Roshan Mahanama (Sri Lanka).
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