Recent Match Report – Pakistan vs West Indies 2nd Test 2021

Resuming after having retired hurt, the batter ensured West Indies’ bowlers were kept at bay

Lunch: Pakistan 273 for 8 (Shaheen Afridi 4*, Alam 111*) v West Indies

Despite bright sunshine on a day where 98 overs were originally scheduled to be bowled, only eight balls were possible before lunch had to be taken on the third day of the second Test. A wet patch around the bowler’s run-up at the Michael Holding end was the culprit, with Holder bowling only two balls from that end before asking for the umpires to get involved. Lengthy discussions that involved the captains, coaches, umpires and match referee followed, before officials decided to break for lunch early.

The middle session was at times as soporific as the weather delays over the past four sessions had been, with just six runs scored in the day’s first ten overs. Mohammad Rizwan and Faheem Ashraf eventually brought up the 50-run partnership, but were, in truth, going nowhere, even though Pakistan needed to force a result. Much of that was thanks to regimentally disciplined bowling, with the quick bowlers allowing few run-scoring opportunities.

Those wicket-to-wicket lines paid off, with both men dismissed lbw. Faheem was the first to go, leaving a gap between bat and pad that Seales hones in on, while Rizwan moved too far across to Holder and caught himself stuck in front. Nauman Ali was dispatched for a first ball duck, and suddenly Holder found himself on a hat-trick, while West Indies sniffed a collapse.

Alam, who had come back on after retiring hurt on the first day, realised it was time to kick on. A flick of the wrists that brought him four broke the shackles, and he found himself inching towards three figures. A pull to midwicket took him to the landmark, and as the dressing room rose as one, Fawad raised his bat; he had ensured a Pakistan fightback in the session. Hasan Ali’s run out was squarely the centurion’s responsibility, but after what Fawad’s done for his side this Test, few in the Pakistani dressing room will hold it against him for too long.