Lunch West Indies 163 (Motie 55, Noman 6-41, Sajid 2-64) vs Pakistan
West Indies got their wish in the morning when they won the toss, allowing them to bat first. But they took little time running into trouble when a Mikyle Louis poke to Mohammad Rizwan got Pakistan up and running in the second over. Debutant Amir Jangoo was struck plumb in front by Sajid Khan five balls later, and Pakistan were on their way.
Kraigg Brathwaite and Kavem Hodge put together a brief partnership that saw off the fast bowler and initially held off the spinners, but once that stand was punctured, bloodletting would follow. West Indies lost five wickets in 13 balls that reduced them from 32 for 2 to 38 for 7.
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Three balls at the start of the 12th over from Noman got him his hat-trick with a mixture of deliveries. Justin Greaves’ edge came as a result of a touch of extra bounce while Tevin Imlach missed a sweep to a straight one. With just about everyone crowding around the bat for the hat-trick ball, Noman pushed it in at pace and found a bit of turn off the pitch. It was much too good for Kevin Sinclair’s tentative prod, and Noman had his hat-trick.
However, what transpired in the final hour before lunch showed that while the wicket was highly conducive to spin, it wasn’t necessarily unplayable. West Indies’ bottom three made history last Test when No.s 9, 10 and 11 became the three highest scorers in an innings for the first team ever, and they repeated the feat this Test.
Motie, Kemar Roach and Jomel Warrican produced a canny mix of resolute temperament and entertaining flair to somewhat steer West Indies out of troubled waters.
Roach and Motie put on 41 for the ninth wicket before a missed sweep from the fast bowler gave Noman his fifth wicket, but Motie and Warrican linked up for another substantial contribution.
It was a mix of good-cop, bad-cop as Motie shut the spinners out while Warrican gave them whacks from the other end. Lunch was extended as the final stand went on, and against all odds, they went past 137 to get West Indies to their highest score of the series.
A whack down the ground from Warrican brought up the 50-run partnership before Motie brought up his own half-century. It was only at the stroke of lunch that Motie missed a slog-sweep off Noman that rattled his off-stump, and a session that began with total Pakistan dominance ended on a more neutral tenor.
Danyal Rasool is ESPNcricinfo’s Pakistan correspondent. @Danny61000
Source: ESPN Crickinfo