PREDICTABLE as it was Pakistan wrapped up the series by winning the second Test against the West Indies to remain also in the hunt for the top ranking once again.

Unlike the first Test where the tourists fought to the end in a bid to win or save the match, the West Indians failed to tackle the Pakistan spinners here in Abu Dhabi as nine of them fell in the second innings to Yasir Shah, Zulfiqar Babar and Mohammad Nawaz in their quest to save the game.

Yasir’s 10-wicket haul in the match besides reaching the landmark of hundred scalps in only his 17th Test was indeed a major factor in what Misbah-ul-Haq’s men have achieved.

And combine that with the way Younis Khan, Azhar Ali, Asad Shafiq and Misbah batted in the match really influenced the outcome in the end.

A lowly-placed West Indies, in fact eighth in the Test rankings, never really threatened to take the game away from Pakistan. Their weaknesses against spin, especially against a wrist spinner, has for years been a cause for concern even when they ruled the world when Clive Lloyd led them or a class act like Viv Richards was at the helm as the prince amongst the batsmen.

Seventeen wickets in the series so far by bouncy little character called Yasir therefore does not come as any surprise to people who know the West Indies’ past and also their present ability or lack of it against a turning ball.

The present decline of the West Indians does not even surprise their captain Jason Holder who accepted the fact about the weakness of his batsmen against spin and also their lack of experience because of being a young team which he said is in a rebuilding phase.

One more victory in Misbah’s bag keeps him at the top amongst all skippers who led Pakistan in Tests. He was full of appreciation for his spinners. “The pitch helped little as the ball turned slow on a flat track and yet our spinners delivered which goes to their credit,” Misbah opined

“It will be unfair of me, however, to not appreciate how well Kraigg Brathwaite and Jermaine Blackwood who missed a hundred by only five runs batted in this match.”

Pakistan at Test level look good. This performance here and on their adopted home pitches match their outings in previous years, but let us not forget we also did very well on the last England tour to earn an honourable 2-2 draw in the Test series.

Let us therefore celebrate the fact that Misbah and his men have done the­mselves credit, at least at the Test level, and that indeed is heart-warming.

Published in Dawn October 26th, 2016