ISLAMABAD: Pakistan on Saturday took commanding position at the close of second day of 2nd test against West Indies at Shaikh Zaid Stadium, Abu Dhabi.
West Indies while responding Pakistan’s first inning score of 452 is struggling at 106-4 at the stamp of second day.
Though through most of the day, West Indies fought to keep Pakistan from assuming a commanding position in the Abu Dhabi Test, but two wickets in the last two overs served a big blow to their recovery.
Leon Johnson and Dwayne Bravo opened for West Indies because Kraigg Brathwaite had to make up for time spent off the field during Pakistan’s innings. They seemed comfortable at the start of the West Indies innings, with the conditions offering little help for either the seamers or the spinners. Then, in the third over after tea, Rahat Ali produced reverse-swing with a 13-over-old ball to get Johnson lbw, beating his inside edge as he looked to work the ball into the leg side.
Yasir had Bravo leg before. Initially, the umpire Michael Gough turned down Yasir’s appeal, but Pakistan’s review showed there was no inside-edge and that the ball pitched in line, and indicated it would have gone on to hit middle and leg stumps.
In the penultimate over of the day, Marlon Samuels edged Rahat’s delivery to slip for a simple catch. Then, Brathwaite pushed Yasir into the covers and called for one. Devendra Bishoo, the nightwatchman, sent him back when he was already halfway down the pitch, and two set batsmen had disappeared in a flash.
Earlier Pakistan scored 452 runs all-out in their first inning. Pakistan started the second day with their overnight score of 304-4, however the skipper Misbah could add only six runs to his overnight score of 90 and departed early. Pakistan slipped to 342-6, but a lovely fifty from Sarfraz, and contributions from Nawaz and Sohail helped Pakistan add to a strong overnight total.
West Indies pacer Gabriel took five wickets. West Indies took the second new ball at the start of the day’s play, and Shannon Gabriel struck in the fifth over of the morning. The last six times Misbah-ul-Haq has resumed his innings overnight, he has added no runs to his score four times, and just four on one occasion. Today he added six runs to his overnight 90 before Gabriel got one to seam back a touch and go past his inside edge as he looked to work the ball into the leg side.
Yasir Shah, who walked in as nightwatchman on the first evening but didn’t get to face a single ball, played some pleasing shots and scored 23 runs.
