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PAK vs WI 2024/25, PAK vs WI 1st Test Match Report, January 17 – 19, 2025

Pakistan 230 (Shakeel 84, Rizwan 71, Seales 3-27) and 157 (Masood 52, Warrican 7-32) beat West Indies 137 (Warrican 31*, Noman 5-39, Sajid 4-65) and 123 (Athanaze 55, Sajid 5-50, Abrar 4-27) by 127 runs

Nicely, how do you sum that up? A madcap two periods of cricket on the third day noticed 17 wickets fall. Pakistan misplaced seven for 48, with Jomel Warrican registering the third-best figures for a visiting bowler in Pakistan. And but, with half an hour to go for tea, Pakistan’s spinners had wrapped up a 127-run victory, skittling West Indies out for 123 in 36.3 overs to go 1-0 up within the collection. Sajid Khan and Abrar Ahmed had been the chief architects, taking 9 of West Indies’ ten wickets because the guests’ problem appeared to soften away together with the solidity of the enjoying strip.

West Indies had about 15 overs to face earlier than lunch, and Pakistan nearly made victory protected on this time. The guests started with optimistic intent, having realised that poking and prodding would get them nowhere. It noticed them via the primary 4 overs, however as Sajid mentioned yesterday, the technique was to assault with the ball and defend with the sphere. Brathwaite employed the slog sweep to good impact so Pakistan had a fielder at deep midwicket, and it was him that the opener picked out to offer Pakistan their first breakthrough.

With prodigious flip round, particularly to the right-hander off the footmarks, the stumps had been at all times in play, and it helped Sajid clear up Mikyle Louis and Kavem Hodge to cut back West Indies to 37 for 4. Noman Ali, who had surprisingly not opened the bowling from the opposite finish, got here into the assault and picked up a wicket on the stroke of lunch when Justin Greaves missed a sweep laden with threat in entrance of center stump.
There was loads of West Indian resistance within the first hour after lunch, most notably from Alick Athanaze, whose half-century – West Indies’ solely such contribution all Check – nearly saved them alive. Alongside Tevin Imlach first after which Kevin Sinclair, Athanaze labored to offer the Pakistan spinners as little as potential. They ditched the belligerent shot-making, and for the primary time all Check, Sajid and Noman briefly did not seem like an enormous risk.

However the momentum shifted as soon as extra when Shan Masood turned to Abrar Ahmed. The marginally completely different problem his legspin poses noticed a magnificence to dismiss Imlach, the ball drifting in and ripping away to take his exterior edge. He would additionally break the subsequent partnership, because of some variable bounce and a splendid diving catch at first slip from Salman Agha, earlier than Agha took the regulation catch the next ball to ship Gudakesh Motie on his manner.

By now, West Indies’ resistance had been fully damaged. Athanaze missed a straight one from Sajid to go away Pakistan one away, and Abrar put a bow on proceedings because the shot West Indies performed usually to attempt to cope on this floor – the high-risk reverse sweep – carried onto the stumps.

The omens for this type of day had been there. It started with Pakistan’s finest participant of spin, Saud Shakeel, falling off the primary supply when he clipped one into brief midwicket’s arms. Warrican adopted it up with the wicket of Rizwan the next over, and on a pitch the place grip and switch grew to become ever extra variable, Pakistan’s batters had been discovering it exhausting work.

Kamran Ghulam had hung round till then, however some further flip from Warrican drew his exterior edge to offer Warrican his first five-wicket haul in Check cricket. West Indies started to burrow into the tail as Warrican grew in confidence. He diverse his tempo to lure Noman in entrance of the stumps as he tried a reverse sweep, earlier than making it seven when Sajid miscued a slog and received an edge to backward level.

The ninth wicket didn’t register immediately in Warrican’s account, however it could as nicely have. Agha prodded one to him on the off aspect and hared off for a single, however Warrican picked up cleanly and hit the stumps direct, catching Khurram Shahzad nicely out of his crease. The innings wrapped up when Agha tried to go excessive in opposition to Motie, solely to search out long-off, and Pakistan had been all out for 157.

On a floor like this, and with the spinners Pakistan have, although, it was nonetheless, by far, greater than sufficient.