Abu Dhabi: A series defeat was imminent, but for how long West Indies could resist the inevitable, was the only question.
Leg spinner Yasir Shah finished with 6 for 124 as Pakistan completed the Windies’ last rites, just 40 minutes before tea, to seal the win by 133 runs in the second Test at the Shaikh Zayed Stadium yesterday.
Though it was Yasir’s eighth five-wicket haul in 18 matches, it was hard work for the bowler known for his masterclass. On a flat, non-responding track, he did struggle with his length all through and hence the delay in finishing off things early.
“Wanted to bowl in one area. These wickets are slow, that’s why there were many bad balls. But I worked on a repeatable action in the nets. I plan differently for different series. The senior players give me extra support,” said Yasir, who walked away with the man-of-match award.
Credit should also go to the Windies’ middle order batsmen especially Jermaine Blackwood, whose fighting knock of 95 allowed his side to give stiff resistance carrying on the fight in a losing battle, for a good 108 overs.
There is no doubt that the Windies team has looked like a club team on this tour and disinterested at times. However, the UAE tracks, in both first and second Tests, have also been way below par.
Apart from being too flat, it was upsetting to see the slowness of the wicket that made the contest look more one-sided and dull.
Ten overs into the final day’s play and Pakistan got the break-through that they were so desperately looking for. Roston Chase may have built a reputation after saving a Test against India in August with 137 but his contribution on this tour has been ordinary and once again it wasn’t effective enough to save the day for Windies. He made a watchful 20 off 86 balls before Yasir got one to spin viciously and Chase nicked it and Sarfraz Ahmad behind the stumps showed good reflexes to hang on to it.
In a forgettable Test match, Blackwood was the lone man standing trying to salvage some pride for his country. He was very much in line for a well-deserved ton and was the only batsman in the Windies ranks who looked better equipped and confident of rising to the challenge in store in the second innings. Blackwood, whose maiden unbeaten century (112) had come against England in North Sound, Antigua, way back in 2015, unfortunately fell short of the landmark by five runs.
It was Yasir again, this time with the new ball when he got one to skid through the defences of Blackwood, who played for the turn and missed to see his stumps stumble. Then skipper Jason Holder was Yasir’s next victim, leg before and the latter was all smiles going into lunch with a five-wicket haul.
By now the Windies had slipped to 272 for 7 chasing that impossible 456 and too much resting on the shoulders of Shai Hope.
Though Yasir kept swelling his wickets column, nothing had gone right for the left-arm spinner Zulfiqar Babar, who had missed the first Test in Dubai. And as Babar heaved a huge sigh of relief getting a well set Hope (41) caught at slips by Younis Khan — getting that turn from a wicket which eluded him for a good four-and-a-half days, claps were heard in the press box for the veteran. Yasir then bowled Miguel Cummins for a duck to finish the match with a 10-wicket haul — the second of his career. And with Devendra Bishoo holding out to Misbah Ul-Haq at mid-wicket, Babar had another victim and the curtains came down on the Windies.
Final scoreboard on the fifth and final day of the second Test between Pakistan and West Indies at the Shaikh Zayed Stadium on Tuesday:
Pakistan first innings 452 (Younis Khan 127, Misbah ul-Haq 96; S. Gabriel 5-96)
West Indies first innings 224 (D. Bravo 43; Yasir Shah 4-86, Rahat Ali 3-45)
Pakistan second innings 227-2 dec (Azhar Ali 79, Asad Shafiq 58 not out)
West Indies 2nd innings (overnight 171-4)
K. Brathwaite lbw b Nawaz 67
L. Johnson b Shah 9
D. Bravo c Nawaz b Rahat 13
M. Samuels c and b Shah 23
J. Blackwood b Shah 95
R. Chase c Ahmad b Shah 20
S. Hope c Younis b Babar 41
J. Holder lbw b Shah 16
D. Bishoo c Misbah b Babar 26
M. Cummins b Shah 0
S. Gabriel not out 7
Extras: (b4, lb1) 5
Total: (all out; 108 overs) 322
Fall of wickets: 1-28 (Johnson), 2-63 (Bravo), 3-112 (Samuels), 4-124 (Brathwaite), 5-187 (Chase), 6-244 (Blackwood), 7-266 (Holder), 8-311 (Hope), 9-312 (Cummins)
Bowling: Sohail 14-3-44-0, Rahat 23-2-69-1, Shah 39-5-124-6, Babar 22-5-51-2, Nawaz 10-0-29-1
Result: Pakistan win by 133 runs
Toss: Pakistan
Umpires: Michael Gough (ENG) and Richard Illingworth (ENG)
TV umpire: Paul Reiffel (AUS)
Match referee: Jeff Crowe (NZL)
