Positive comeback by West Indies bowling attack after lunch

The hope of an early wicket by the West Indian bowling attack early on the third day of the 2nd Test against Pakistan all but withered away after opener Azhar Ali and the stubborn Misbah-ul-Haq made it to lunch unbothered but then a silver lining shone after lunch for the home side.

It was the same ol’ same ol’ for the West Indies under overcast skies to start the 3rd Day of the second Test against Pakistan at Kensington Oval yesterday with no inroads made in the Pakistan line-up after ending the previous day on a high by taking three wickets in the last session. The hope was to take some early wickets and dismiss the overnight batsman of Azhar Ali who started the day on 81 but he made it to 94 of 257 balls and then went on to reach a ton just after the lunch break.

The going was slow for Pakistan and slower for the West Indies, but Devendra Bishoo broke through the wall of defiance when he took the wicket of Ali caught behind for 105 from 278 balls with nine fours. The score was 259 when Ali fell and Asad Shafiq came to the crease to continue the stand against the West Indies bowlers and along with Misbah, the pair successfully chased down the West Indies total of 312 and started to accumulate a challenging total for the home team. Unfortunately they only added four runs to the cause before Misbah was dismissed.

Misbah had a scare with the ball before he was dismissed when he was struck on the leg by Captain Jason Holder. The umpire denied the appeal for Lbw but the West Indies reviewed the decision with the hopes to take the wicket with Misbah on 99 runs. The third umpire declared that the batsman was struck too high and the ball would have gone over the stumps much to the disappointment of the fielding side. The disappointment was short-lived when the next delivery caught Misbah between two minds of whether to play a slightly wide ball by Holder and the ball hit the bat and ballooned softly to Shai Hope at gully. So close and yet so far as Misbah walked back to the pavilion shaking his head, dismissed one run short of his century.

The fall of Misbah started the momentum shift to the West Indies with Holder striking again, trapping Asad Shafiq plum in front the wicket, dismissing him for 15. The fiery Shannon Gabriel who had a rough Day 2 with eight no-balls, then bowled a brilliant ball pulling Sarfaz Ahmed into a shot with the ball catching the edge and landing safely in the hands of Keiran Powell at second slip with the score on 329 for the loss of seven. Shadab Khan and Mohammad were the two new batsmen in for Pakistan and were able to keep their wickets intact bringing up Pakistan’s 350 in the 131st over.

The pair would have hoped to hold out till the close of play but Holder struck again with Hope coming into action again, taking the catch at gully to dismiss Mohammad Amir for ten off 22 runs. Pakistan may have lost a wicket, but it was a blessing in disguise as Yasir Shah came to the crease. Shah put bat to ball and hit the West Indian bowlers around the Oval but he lost his batting partner when Gabriel struck late in the evening with the score on 384 and Pakistan 72 runs ahead, dismissing Khan Shadab for 16 off 22 balls. He then wrapped up the Pakistani innings taking the edge to dismiss Shah for 24 runs off 31 balls including three fours and one six. It was a good evening for the West Indies taking the final five wickets for 77 runs to end the third Day’s play on top.

Yes the West Indies bowled well but needed to hold firm without losing a wicket with only an hour left to play in Day 3. It was not to be as Pakistan was able to sneak in the early wicket of Keiran Powell caught behind for six with the score on only eight. The next West Indies batsman in was Shimron Hetmyer who steadied the ship with opener Kraigg Brathwaite. The two took the West Indies to 40 for the loss of one by the end of play with Brathwaite on eight from 46 balls and Hetmyer at the other end with a well played 22 off 34.

Holder was the pick of the bowlers for the West Indies taking three wickets in 29 Overs for a miserly 42 runs. Bishoo had bowling figures of 41 Overs for 116 runs, while Gabriel completed 32 Overs for 84 runs taking the largest wicket haul for the West Indies of four wickets. The home side will have to bat through the day and set a defendable total in order to give their bowlers an semblance of a chance to bowl out the opposition. (AS)