Pakistan under the cosh as Windies dominate

Brathwaite, Holder star for visitors; hosts end third day 87-4

KARACHI: Kraigg Brathwaite and Jason Holder starred for West Indies on the third day of the third and final Test of the series as Pakistan were left with an uphill task of setting a strong target in Sharjah.

The hosts, seemingly, had an easy task of overcoming a 56-run deficit on the third day and then setting a target for West Indies to chase.

However, that proved to be more difficult than it looked as Pakistan lost four batsmen along the way before Sarfraz Ahmed, along with opener Azhar Ali, who stood firm while his partners at the other end of the pitch kept falling, stopped the rot.

At stumps, Pakistan were 87-4, just 31 runs ahead over the visitors.

With only a couple of wickets left before the tail gets exposed, Azhar (45) and Sarfraz (19) will try to prolong their stay on the crease on the penultimate day in order to set a fighting total.



West Indies captain Holder was Pakistan’s chief tormentor claiming key wickets of in-form Sami Aslam (17), Asad Shafiq (naught) and Younus Khan (naught) — it was a second duck for Shafiq in the match.

Roston Chase got rid of captain Misbahul Haq — the last Pakistan wicket to fall on the day. Misbah rather gifted his wicket with an unnecessary pull shot at deep backward point with Devendra Bishoo taking a comfortable catch.

Earlier, Braithwaite became just the fifth West Indian to carry the bat, scoring an unbeaten 142 off 318 deliveries to guide his side to 337 in the first innings. Braithwaite, who resumed the day’s play on 95, added a valuable 60-run partnership with Bishoo (27) for the eighth wicket.

Fast-bowler Wahab Riaz, meanwhile, registered a five-wicket haul, while Mohammad Amir (3-71), Yasir Shah (1-80) and Zulfiqar Babar (1-56) were the other wicket-taking bowlers for Pakistan.



We weren’t complacent, says Wahab  

Wahab, while shrugging off the impression that the team were complacent against the West Indies having already won the series 2-0, said the players will fight to win the game.

“We may have lost some concentration but there is no question of complacency,” he told reporters in Sharjah. “Our batsmen have been doing well in the series and there is no reason to blame them for anything. This situation will help us prepare for the difficult series coming ahead [against New Zealand and Australia].”



‘Winning not impossible for under pressure Pakistan’

Despite another impressive day by the West Indies in Sharjah, former selector Haroon Rasheed believes the visitors can still win the game.

“No doubt Pakistan are under pressure in this match but they can still build a strong case for victory. Sarfraz and Azhar must form a strong partnership and should try to stay longer,” he told The Express Tribune.

Haroon, who also praised the resilient stand by the West Indies, said that Pakistan should try to give more than a 230-run target to be in a strong position to win and complete the Test series whitewash.

“West Indies have made a brilliant comeback. Pakistan is one of the top Test teams and bringing them under pressure is an achievement on its own. Their use of short balls has been very impressive. However, if Pakistan manage to set a target of 230 runs or above then the visitors would be in for a tough time,” he said.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 2^nd, 2016.   

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