MULTAN, Pakistan – Pakistan’s spinning duo of Sajid Khan and Abrar Ahmed bamboozled West Indies’ batsmen to bowl their side to a comprehensive 127-run victory inside three days at the Multan Cricket Stadium on Sunday.
Player-of-the-Match Khan grabbed five wickets and Ahmed snared four wickets and the pair overshadowed a career best bowling performance by West Indies leg spinner Jomel Warrican on a day that saw 17 wickets tumble.
Warrican’s superb 7-32, which saw him end with match figures of 10-101, had earlier instigated a Pakistan middle-order collapse that resulted in them losing their last seven wickets for 48 runs after they resumed on 109 for three at the start of the day.
Warrican struck with the day’s first delivery by having Saud Shakeel caught at midwicket by Justin Greaves and then Mohammed Rizwan edged him to first slip where he was caught by Kavem Hodge to make the score 113 for five.
The leg spinner also trapped Kamran Ghulam and Noman Ali lbw for 27 and nine respectively and had Khan caught at backward point by skipper Kraig Brathwaite, as Pakistan were dismissed for 157 in the morning session, giving West Indies a challenging 251 runs to win on a turning pitch.
Khan made sure the contest was effectively over by the lunch break, running through the Windies’ top order and capturing the first four wickets.
Brathwaite was the first to go after scoring 12, caught at midwicket as he tried to hit him over the infield.
Keacy Carty made just six before his intended sweep lobbed into the air after hitting his glove to give the wicketkeeper an easy catch and Kavem Hodge was bowled for a duck when Khan’s delivery outside off stump turned back sharply to creep between bat and pad, leaving the visitors 32 for three.
Opener Mikyle Louis was also bowled for 13 as he charged down the track at the off spinner, before Nomad Ali had Justin Greaves adjudged lbw for six as the West Indies limped to the break at 54 for five.
Alick Athanaze was the only bright spark among the batters, with his 55 being the lone form of resistance against Pakistan’s spinners.
The diminutive left-hander shared a 41-run partnership with debutant Tevin Imlach, to help frustrate Pakistan’s bowlers, if only for a while.
Ahmed eventually broke the stand by having Imlach caught behind for 14 with a delivery that pitched on middle and spun away from him.
Athanaze brought up his fourth Test half century off 49 balls soon after, by driving Ali through extra cover for four.
The match ended in swift fashion soon after though, with the West Indies losing their last four wickets without a run being added.
With the score on 123 for six, Kevin Sinclair was undone by a delivery from Ahmed that bounced steeply on him and resulted in him being caught by Agha Salman at first slip for 10, and Gudakesh Motie was caught by the same fielder off the next ball bowled by Ahmed.
Athanaze’s resistance finally came to an end when he became Khan’s fifth wicket, out lbw after an hour and 40 minutes at the crease, where he faced 68 balls and struck seven fours.
Ahmed then ended the match when he had Warrican lbw for a duck to give Pakistan a 1-0 lead in the two-match Test series.
The second Test bowls off on January 25 at the same venue.
SUMMARISED SCORES
PAKISTAN 230 & 157 in 46.4 overs (Shan Masood 52, Muhammad Hurraira 29. Kamram Ghulam 27, Salman Agha 14; Jomel Warrican 7-32) vs
WEST INDIES 137 & 123 in 36.3 overs (Alick Athanaze 55, Tevin Imlach 14, Kevin Sinclair 10, Mikyle Louis 13, Kraigg Brathwaite 12; Sajid Khan 5-50, Abrar Ahmed 4-27).
(CMC)
