Misbahul Haq praises bowlers for series victory over Windies

Pakistan gain unassailable 2-0 lead over visitors after 133-run win in Abu Dhabi

Pakistan beat West Indies by 133 runs in the second of the three-match Test series on Tuesday to gain an unassailable 2-0 lead in Abu Dhabi.

West Indies, chasing 456 in the fourth innings, were all out for 322 in the second session of the final day as the hosts clinched the series.

Windies started day five on 171-4 but leggie Yasir Shah once again was on song when he bagged first three wickets on day five. The visitors went into lunch with 272-7 on board.

After lunch, Left-arm spinner Zulfiqar Babar dismissed Shai Hope while Yasir accounted for Miguel Cummins. Zulfiqar bagged the last wicket of the match as Divendra Bishoo top-edged one into the air for Pakistan captain Misbahul Haq to catch.

Earlier, Pakistan scored 452 runs in the first innings of the match courtesy Younus Khan’s 127.

Windies, in their reply, could only manage 224 with Darren Bravo (43) being the highest scorer.

Pakistan, then, did not enforce the follow-on and came in to bat. Fifties from the top three batsmen helped them to 227-2 with a lead of 455 on the board.

Man-of-the-match Yasir bagged 10 wickets in the match (four in the first innings, six in the second innings).

Pakistan won the T20I and ODI series 3-0 and are on their way to whitewash the Windies in the Tests as well.

Post-match presentation ceremony

Yasir Shah: Whenever I play in UAE, there are a lot of expectations. The wicket was slow; I bowled a lot of bad ball bowled due to that. However, I worked hard in the nets. I try to plan differently for every series. All the seniors support me most importantly Misbah and Younus. I still talk to Mushi bhai (Mushtaq Ahmed) and he helps me a lot.

Jason Holder: We let ourselves down. We dropped Misbah, Younus. We paid for that. They are a quality side. They play good cricket. We have to work on our execution.

Misbahul Haq: Thanks to Almighty. On a wicket like this, it is a challenge to take 20 wickets. All bowlers contributed well. They (young guys) know how to win the games now. I believe you first assess the conditions. You visit your resources. You need to have a game plan. You need to execute your plans according to your strengths. We will need a different plan for New Zealand and Australia. Winning a Test without a good bowling attack is tough. The bowlers are doing wonderfully well for us.