Darren Bravo defied Pakistan until the last hour of play with a fighting 116 and it needed a brilliant leaping catch by leg-spinner Yasir Shah to dismiss him after a 410-minute vigil. If he picks up his bowling, then the West Indies have the same chance of winning as they do claiming the no. 1 Test spot tomorrow. They are well capable of creating an upset and carry the team over the line.
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TEA: WI need 192 runs, Pakistan six wickets.
Both the batsmen played cautiously to see off the first two sessions after Pakistan made inroads through Amir and Mohammad Nawaz.
Nawaz finished with 2-30 on his debut and Riaz took 2-65.
A thrilled Devendra Bishoo told reporters here yesterday he had been forced to make several adjustments which resulted in his career-best eight-wicket haul against Pakistan on the penultimate day of the first day-night Test here. I think we set up ourselves well in this Test match, after a hard first two days.
Mohammad Amir had earlier given Pakistan the flawless start by having Marlon Samuels caught behind with the first ball of the day.
The pattern of the game, which was only the second day-night Test, was in contrast to the first such fixture in Adelaide, where Australia beat New Zealand inside three days in a match dominated by bowlers. The match is evenly poised at the moment and WestIndies will look to garner another 70-80 odd runs and steer their side to a commanding position.
At tea Bravo was unbeaten on 46, with him and Roston Chase (21) having added 38 for the fifth wicket to thwart Pakistan’s spin-cum-pace attack on a tired Dubai Stadium pitch. It was tough for the team as well as for the captain.
“Credit to West Indies, the way Bishoo bowled”.
With the score at 77 for 2 and the lead at 299, Azam played a loose cross-batted shot onto his stumps off Bishoo. He took a good low catch to get rid of Aslam. Bishoo’s spell and Bravo’s knock were inspirational.
“It’s definitely an area we need to improve on but if you look at the scorecard, there were a few no-balls from both sides”.
Former Pakistan captain and coach Waqar Younis: “Test match cricket is still the pinnacle and we have to preserve it”. He finally got his first wicket when he bowled Chase from across his feet. His cause wasn’t helped by the fact that Shane Dowrich fell a ball later to Wahab Riaz.
Holder lauded the efforts of Darren Bravo who scored 87 and 116 in two patient and dogged innings to give the West Indies a sniff at victory.
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After an exciting start to the series, the teams now move to Abu Dhabi for the second game from Friday (October 21).
