Pakistan v West Indies, 1st Test, Day 4 - 5 Talking Points

By the end of day three, there were no second guesses to the fact that Pakistan was set to pocket the game. West Indies showed some resilience. But, they were eventually bundled out for 357 trailing Pakistan by 222 runs.

Pakistan decided not to make them follow on and chose to bat again and set a target. The listless show by the West Indies bowlers made everyone anticipate that the Pakistanis will once again dominate the bowlers and set an improbable target and later bowl them out to win the game. This was the simple equation everyone had in their mind. But, leg-spinner Devendra Bishoo had some surprise.

Bishoo went on a wicket taking spree and rolled over the opposition single-handedly with a spell of 8/49 to bowl out the Pakistanis for just 123 runs. At the close of play on Sunday (October 16), the visitors were 95 for 2 in pursuit of 346. Darren Bravo (26 not out) and Marlon Samuels (4 not out) were at the crease after the visitors lost Kraigg Brathwaite and Leon Johnson.

1.Yasir Shah becomes the second fastest to 100 wickets:

The first session of the day saw Yasir Shah complete the much awaited 100 wicket milestone with the wicket of Miguel Cummins. Cummins scalp nit only gave him another five-wicket haul but also made him the fastest Asian and the 2nd fastest overall to the 100 wickets mark.

He completed this milestone in just 17 matches and overtook India’s Ravichandran Ashwin, who previously was the fastest Asian having achieved the 100 wicket mark in 18 matches in 2012.

He shares the 2 spot with Charlie Turner, Sydney Barnes and Claire Grimmett. Only George Lohmann, the English medium pacer who played in the late 1800s, is the only bowler ahead of Shah. Before Yasir, the best for Pakistan was by Saeed Ajmal, who took 19 Tests to reach 100 wickets.

2. Devendra Bishoo delivers a shock:

Devendra Bishoo was the main talking point at Stumps of Day four. Pakistan would have never expected such turn of events in the game where they were sitting comfortably in a winning position.

With a healthy advantage of 222 runs, the Pakistani batsmen walked in with a motive of adding quick runs on the scoreboard and propel the overall lead to an improbable level. However, Bishoo had some other plans.

The leg-spinner ran through the Pakistan batting order and claimed his career best figures of 8/49 to bowl them out one session. Pakistan lost their last seven wickets for 30 runs to be bowled out for 123. Courtesy to his bowling show, West Indies now have to chase an achievable target of 36 runs.

3. West Indies’ aim for a win:

West Indies camp was beaming with a hope of a win after been thrashed for the first three days of the opening Test and in the Limited overs series prior to the beginning of the Test series.

Azhar Ali’s triple century had made things bad for the Windies. They had a mammoth total to overhaul in the first inning. All their combined efforts could only take them till 357 runs in the second innings. They were simply trying to survive till the start of the day four before the unexpected things happened.

Bishoo’s astonishing bowling show saw them come back into the game. With 95 runs on the board, they need only 251 more runs to win. This is definitely a great opportunity for them to script the biggest come from behind victory.

4. Mohammad Amir keeps Pakistan in contest:

Pakistan, despite giving away the advantage to West Indies, made a couple early inroads in the opposition batting order to stay in the competition. Left-arm fast bowler Mohammad Amir bowled an energetic final spell and claimed two top order wickets.

He first got rid of Kraigg Brathwaite early and later added the other opener Leon Johnson to keep the interest alive and kicking in the game. Pakistan would now want spinner Yasir Shah to make a match-winning impact on day five.

He first got rid of Kraigg Brathwaite early and later added the other opener Leon Johnson to keep the interest alive and kicking in the game. Pakistan would now want spinner Yasir Shah to make a match-winning impact on day five.

5. Windies pray for Bravo and Samuels to do well:

After the loss of both their opener, Darren Bravo, with Marlon Samuels, saw West Indies to stumps without further damage, setting up an intriguing final day. West Indies need 251 runs more, while Pakistan needed eight wickets to win.

The onus will be on Bravo and Samuels to replicate their first innings performance. Both struck important fifties and were the backbone of the West Indies resilience in the first innings. Now, they need to do well again if West Indies fancy a stunning victory.