KINGSTON: Pakistan were steadily building a handy lead on the first innings as an unbroken stand of 86 between captain Misbah-ul-Haq and Sarfraz Ahmed lifted them to 322-5 at lunch on the fourth day of the first Test here on Monday.

Sarfraz scored a rapid 53 and Misbah a more patient 47 at Sabina Park after Pakistan lost only Asad Shafiq for 22 in the morning session, caught behind off the bowling of Shannon Gabriel.

Sarfraz hit five fours and a six in his 62-ball knock, while Misbah’s 47 have used up 128 balls, including a six off Royston Chase on the last ball of the session. The 42-year-old is only two runs from reaching 5,000 Test runs.

On Sunday, Younis Khan hit 58 to become the first Pakistan batsman to score 10,000 runs in Test cricket.

Younis moved on from a painfully slow start to get to 58 while Babar Azam stroked 72 in dominating a 131-run third-wicket partnership with the former captain to give the tourists the ascendancy into the final session of the day.

However, Gabriel dismissed both in the space of three deliveries to limit Pakistan’s progress.

Having confirmed this series as the last before he retires from international cricket, 39-year-old Younis played with exaggerated care at the start of his innings.

In contrast, Babar displayed much more aggression and purpose although he once again fell short of a maiden Test century.

Possibly mindful of his proximity to the landmark when he started his innings 23 runs away from the cherished goal, Younis took 47 minutes to get off the mark while Babar attempted to keep the scoreboard ticking over at the other end.

Playing his first Test in the Caribbean after missing the 2011 tour due to the death of his brother, the former captain eventually started to creep towards his 10,000th run, triggering the celebrations when he swept a delivery from off-spinner Roston Chase in the first over after tea to the backward square-leg boundary to become just the 13th player overall in the history of the game to scale that summit.

“I thought about bowing out of international cricket three years ago but one of the motivating factors for me to stay was to get to ten thousand runs,” Younis said at the end of the day. “I am finished after the series, no matter how many runs I score, but I just hope I have been able to make a useful contribution as a player and also help the younger ones to do as well as I have, or even better.”

Hailed as a potential successor to Younis as the permanent occupant of the number three batting position, Babar enjoyed a moment of luck just after lunch when West Indies captain Jason Holder failed to hold on to a caught-and-bowled chance with the batsman on 12.

Yet just as it looked as if their partnership would continue until the close of play, Gabriel broke through.

Younis mistimed an off-drive to give to be caught at extra-cover and become the fast bowler’s 50th Test wicket. Then in his next over a tentative Babar played on to spark further celebrations among the West Indian players.

Scoreboard

WEST INDIES (1st Innings) 286 (R.L. Chase 63, J.O. Holder 57 not out, S.O. Dowrich 56; Mohammad Amir 6-44, Yasir Shah 2-91).

PAKISTAN (1st Innings, overnight 201-4):

Azhar Ali c Dowrich b Joseph 15

Ahmed Shehzad lbw b Holder 31

Babar Azam b Gabriel 72

Younis Khan c Brathwaite b Gabriel 58

Misbah-ul-Haq not out 47

Asad Shafiq c Dowrich b Gabriel 22

Sarfraz Ahmed not out 53

EXTRAS (B-4, LB-9, NB-11) 24

TOTAL (for five wkts, 109 overs) 322

FALL OF WKTS: 1-23, 2-54, 3-185, 4-186, 5-236.

TO BAT: Mohammad Amir, Wahab Riaz, Yasir Shah, Mohammad Abbas.

BOWLING (to-date): Gabriel 24-5-73-3 (6nb), Joseph 23-6-56-1 (2nb); Holder

25-5-54-1 (3nb); Bishoo 23-2-68-0; Chase 7-1-36-0; Brathwaite 7-1-22-0.

Published in Dawn, April 25th, 2017