BRIDGETOWN: West Indies’ vulnerable top-order batting was again exploited by Pakistan as the home team reached 72 for three at lunch after choosing to bat first on the opening day of the second Test at Kensington Oval on Sunday.
Despite a surface that offered very little assistance to the faster bowlers, the Caribbean team lost their first three wickets after just over an hour before the pair of opening batsman Kieran Powell and Roston Chase navigated their way to the interval without any further casualties.
Powell, top scorer with 49 amid the West Indies’ second innings capitulation in the first Test in Kingston, was due to resume in the afternoon session on 29 with Chase on 23, their partnership worth 35 runs in conditions which appeared increasingly easy for batting as the morning wore on.
Mohammad Amir was the first to strike for Pakistan against a batting line-up that was surprisingly unchanged from the seven-wicket defeat in Jamaica, the selectors resisting calls for to bring in middle-order batsman Jermaine Blackwood.
Kraigg Brathwaite enjoyed a moment of good fortune when he was dropped at short extra-cover by Ahmed Shehzad off Amir.
However the lapse did not prove costly for the visitors as Amir took the outside edge of the opener’s bat in the same over to give a straightforward catch to wicket-keeper Sarfraz Ahmed.
Shimron Hetmyer, one of two batting debutants from a week earlier, faced just three deliveries before driving loosely at the other opening bowler, Mohammad Abbas, for Azhar Ali to take a sharp catch head-high at second slip.
Shai Hope’s struggle for runs continued when he was caught at the wicket off Yasir Shah, the leg-spinner extracting sharp turn off the first-day pitch and appearing to justify Pakistan’s decision to give a debut to Shadab Khan as a second wrist-spinner in their bowling armoury at the expense of their fastest bowler, Wahab Riaz.
Shadab, the man-of-the-series in the four-match T20 contest who also enjoyed success in the three One-day Internationals preceding the Tests, bowled four overs before the interval without appearing particularly threatening.
However with Yasir seeming to be troubled by a back complaint in the final over of the morning, the newcomer can expect a heavy workload for the rest of the day should the premier slow bowler in the side be seriously hampered.
Meanwhile, Pakistan captain Misbah-ul-Haq was expecting his team not fall prey to over-confidence as they seek an historic series-clinching win in the second Test.
Buoyed by a seven-wicket triumph in Kingston, and with the home team struggling to compete, there is a heightened sense of anticipation for the tourists to achieve a double-first at what is considered the spiritual home of Caribbean cricket — a Test win at the venue and a Test series triumph ahead of the final match in Dominica a week later.
“Sometimes that is the main problem with the Pakistan team — you win a game and then become complacent. We don’t want that,” Misbah cautioned on the eve of the match. “It is more important for us to be at the top of our game in batting and bowling than worrying about who you are playing.”
Leading the West Indies in a Test for the first time in his home island, Holder hoped his team could take encouragement from their series-ending victory in Sharjah last November and eliminate the mistakes that cost them dearly in Jamaica.
“We have shown that we have what it takes to win, so we just have to tick our boxes in terms of getting some runs, taking our chances [in the field] when they come, and the bowlers have to be able to get 20 wickets,” he observed. “It’s especially important that we put runs on the board in the first innings because that sets up the game quite nicely for you.”
Mindful of the countdown to the end of the distinguished international careers of both himself and fellow middle-order stalwart Younis Khan in less than two weeks’ time, Misbah noted that he was heartened by the competitive spirit in the camp.
“They look more determined to win this series badly because it will be the first series win here,” he explained. “For myself and Younis that’s good to see.”
Scoreboard
WEST INDIES (1st Innings):
K.C. Brathwaite c Sarfraz b Amir 9 K.O.A. Powell not out 29 S.O. Hetmyer c Azhar b Abbas 1 S.D. Hope c Sarfraz b Yasir 5 R.L. Chase not out 23
EXTRAS (LB-4, W-1) 5
TOTAL (for three wkts, 27 overs) 72
FALL OF WKTS: 1-12, 2-13, 3-37.
TO BAT: V.A. Singh, S.O. Dowrich, J.O. Holder, D. Bishoo, A.S. Joseph, S.T. Gabriel.
BOWLING (to-date): Mohammad Amir 8-3-6-1; Mohammad Abbas 6-1-16-1 (1w); Yasir Shah 9-1-32-1; Shadab Khan 4-1-14-0.
PAKISTAN: Azhar Ali, Ahmed Shehzad, Babar Azam, Younis Khan, Misbah-ul-Haq, Asad Shafiq, Sarfraz Ahmed, Shadab Khan, Mohammad Amir, Yasir Shah, Mohammad Abbas.
UMPIRES: R.A. Kettleborough (England) and B.N.J. Oxenford (Australia).
TV UMPIRE: R.K. Illingworth (England).
MATCH REFEREE: B.C. Broad (England).
Published in Dawn, May 1st, 2017
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