PORT-OF-SPAIN: Pakistan beat the West Indies by eight wickets on the fourth day of the second and final Test at the Queen’s Park Oval in Port-of-Spain on Wednesday to level the series and register their first away win since July 2023.

Beaten by 90 runs in the first Test the previous week, the visitors were left with a target of only 75 runs after the home side — already in deep trouble overnight at 103 for six in the second innings — were dismissed for 117 half-an-hour into the start of the day’s play.

Abdullah Shafique and captain Babar Azam guided their team to victory after openers Imam-ul-Haq and Azan Awais fell cheaply to pacers Jayden Seales and Shamar Joseph with Babar hoisting consecutive sixes off spinner Jomel Warrican to seal the result.

It gave Pakistan a share of the series in the same manner as their last campaign in the Caribbean in 2021, when they rebounded similarly from losing the first Test to take the second, both matches played then at Sabina Park in Kingston, Jamaica.

Their last meeting in Pakistan, for two Tests in Multan in January of 2025, also finished 1-1.

This match was a personal triumph for Abdullah.

Not included in the original touring party and only flown in last week as replacement for the injured Shan Masood, his unbeaten 160 was the cornerstone of Pakistan’s first innings total of 387.

“This comeback match felt like a debut for me,” Abdullah said after the match. “I had been working hard for the last one year and was waiting for my opportunity.

“It came at an unexpected time but I grabbed it with both hands.”

This was also Pakistan’s first Test victory at Queen’s Park Oval since 1977, when captain Mushtaq Mohammad’s all-round performance took his team to a series-levelling win in the fourth Test of a five-match series. West Indies however won the decider in Kingston to take that rubber 2-1.

SAJID, USMAN STAR

Pushing aside the hotly-debated omission of senior seamer Mohammad Abbas on the first morning of this Test, Pakistan prevailed with their two frontline spinners starring in the victory.

Off-spinner Sajid Khan, who was not picked for the first Test, made the most of his recall with a match haul of eight for 117, although he was not required on the final morning as the other spinner, left-arm orthodox Ali Usman, took two of the last three wickets to fall to claim four for 39 in the innings and match figures of six for 119.

West Indies were hampered by the absence of regular opening batsman Brandon King who was unable to bat because of back spasms suffered in effecting the run out of Pakistan captain Babar for 88 the day before.

Sajid had taken four for 32 to engineer the West Indies second innings collapse late on day three, yet Babar opted for the combination of Usman and seamer Mohammad Ali to complete the job on the fourth morning.

They were aided though by poor shot selection from the hosts’ lower order.

Kemar Roach, noted for his tailender’s defiance as displayed in the first innings, swung hopefully at the second delivery he faced from Usman to be bowled for a “duck”.

Justin Greaves, the last real hope for any meaningful West Indian resistance, dragged an attempted pull at Ali onto his middle stump, and the innings was wrapped up when Shamar Joseph, having already struck two boundaries, essayed another big swing at Usman only for a skied leading edge to be easily pouched by wicketkeeper Mohammad Rizwan.

Pakistan’s win also broke a streak of eight consecutive Test match defeats away from home, which started with a 360-run annihilation at the hands of Australia in Perth in December, 2023.

After lunch on Tuesday, Sajid had put Pakistan on course for the eventual victory as West Indies stumbled to 103 for six — a lead of just 60 runs — on an eventful third day.

Abdullah’s unbeaten 160 ensured the visitors did not completely squander an excellent overnight platform in eventually getting to a first-innings total of 387.

Sajid then made his second meaningful contribution of the day in taking four second-innings wickets, while Usman claimed two, including home captain Roston Chase caught-and-bowled off the final ball of the day.

On a deteriorating pitch offering sharp turn and variable bounce, West Indies left-arm spinner Jomel Warrican was as much in his element as 18 months earlier against these same opponents in Multan.

Here, his haul of six for 112, including three wickets in four balls to wrap up the Pakistan innings on the stroke of tea had West Indies’ tail up, but Sajid’s show later and Usman’s contribution on the fourth day saw the visitors have the last laugh.

Scoreboard

WEST INDIES (1st Innings) 344 (J. Greaves 73, R. Chase 70; Sajid Khan 4-85)

PAKISTAN (1st Innings) 387 (Abdullah Shafique 160, Babar Azam 88; J. Warrican 6-112)

WEST INDIES (2nd Innings, overnight:

103-6):

T. Chanderpaul lbw b Sajid17

K. Hodge lbw b Usman34

A. Jangoo b Sajid13

R. Chase c&b Usman17

S. Hope lbw b Sajid15

J. Seales lbw b Sajid0

J. Greaves b Ali3

K. Roach b Usman0

S. Joseph c Rizwan b Usman9

J. Warrican not out2

B. King absent hurt

EXTRAS (B-1, LB-1, W-5)7

TOTAL (all out, 46.1 overs)117

FALL OF WICKETS: 1-40 (Chanderpaul), 2-62 (Jangoo), 3-74 (Hodge), 4-99 (Hope), 5-101 (Seales), 6-103 (Chase), 7-103 (Roach), 8-115 (Greaves), 9-117 (Joseph)

BOWLING: Ali 11-2-31-1, Ubaid 4-0-13-0 (1w), Usman 19.1-4-39-4, Sajid 12-2-32-4

PAKISTAN (2nd Innings):

Azan Awais b Joseph18

Imam-ul-Haq c Greaves b Seales9

Abdullah Shafique not out24

Babar Azam not out24

EXTRAS (NB-2)2

TOTAL (for two wickets, 23.3 overs)77

DID NOT BAT: Mohammad Rizwan, Salman Ali Agha, Awais Zafar, Ali Usman, Sajid Khan, Ubaid Shah, Mohammad Ali

FALL OF WICKETS: 1-15 (Imam), 2-42 (Azan)

BOWLING: Roach 2-0-11-0 (1nb), Warrican 11.3-4-38-0 (1nb), Seales 5-1-9-1, Joseph 4-1-17-1, Hodge 1-0-2-0

RESULT: Pakistan won by eight wickets.

MAN-OF-THE-MATCH: Abdullah Shafique

SERIES: Two-match series drawn 1-1.

Published in Dawn, August 6th, 2026