KINGSTON, Jamaica (AFP) — Shaheen Shah Afridi completed a 10-wicket match haul to bowl Pakistan to a series-levelling 109-run victory over the West Indies in the final session of the second and final Test at Sabina Park yesterday.
Frustrated by the loss of an entire day’s play and another session to rain and a sodden outfield over the weekend, Shaheen kept Pakistan’s hopes alive with a devastating first innings effort of six for 51 on day four — his best Test innings performance — and returned on the final day to strike critical blows.
Then, when it seemed the weather would ruin their desperate push for victory, he came back for a final spell with the second new ball to take the last two wickets and give his team a tremendous triumph with one hour to spare.
Starting the day at 49 for one and facing the unlikely target of 329, the West Indies were again let down by their top-order batting, sliding to 113 for six in mid-afternoon despite a battling 39 from Captain Kraigg Brathwaite.
Former skipper Jason Holder eventually topscored with 47 but it was his demise to Nauman Ali, the left-arm spinner’s third wicket, which eased a rising sense of panic in the Pakistan camp. Then Afridi, new ball in hand and with eight wickets down, trapped Kemar Roach leg-before.
Afridi then induced a mistimed drive from Joshua da Silva for Faheem Ashraf to take the catch at mid-on and dismiss the West Indies for 219 and seal yet another come-from-behind effort for Pakistan in the Caribbean.
As in 2005 and 2011, Pakistan, this time led by Babar Azam, lost the first Test but rebounded to take the second and share the honours with the hosts.
Shaheen’s second-innings figures of four for 43 gave him a match haul of 10 for 94 and with a series-leading tally of 18 wickets in the two matches at an average of 11.28, it was inevitable that the 21-year-old would be both Man of the Match and Man of the Series.
He started the ball rolling for Pakistan within the first half-hour of the day when he removed nightwatchman Alzarri Joseph via an ambitious top-edged hook which was held by wicketkeeper Mohammad Rizwan. He then returned just as a shower was about to sweep across the ground in mid-afternoon to break a stubborn seventh-wicket partnership between Kyle Mayers and Holder.
Mayers’ dismissal was a great relief to Pakistan as just a couple overs earlier he was dropped at short-leg by Abid Ali off Nauman.
Abid was also badly at fault when he missed Brathwaite at slip off Faheem in the morning session.
On 25 at the time, the West Indies captain carried on to 39 but fell shortly after lunch when a top-edged cut off Nauman found a grateful Fawad Alam at backward-point.
Shaheen had set the tone at the start of the day with the early wicket and his teammates followed his lead.
Nkrumah Bonner was soon trapped leg-before by Hasan Ali and following Abid’s inexplicable miss, his opening partner Imran Butt reinforced his reputation as the safest pair of hands in the Pakistan team, holding on to Roston Chase’s edged drive off Hasan diving to his right at second slip.
Jermaine Blackwood looked capable of reaching the lunch interval with Brathwaite but Nauman accounted for him for 25 via another wicketkeeper’s catch, the fourth wicket of the morning after the West Indies resumed at 49 for one.
Scoreboard
Pakistan 1st Innings – 302-9 declared
West Indies 1st Innings – 150
Pakistan 2nd Innings – 176-6 declared
West Indies 2nd Innings (target 329 – overnight 49-1)
K Brathwaite c Fawad Alam b Nauman Ali 39
K Powell run out 23
A Joseph c wkpr Mohammad Rizwan b Shaheen Shah Afridi 17
N Bonner lbw Hasan Ali 2
R Chase c Imran Butt b Hasan Ali 0
J Blackwood c wkpr Mohammad Rizwan b Nauman Ali 25
K Mayers c wkpr Mohammad Rizwan b Shaheen Shah Afridi 32
J Holder c Fawad Alam b Nauman Ali 47
J da Silva c Faheem Ashraf b Shaheen Shah Afridi 15
K Roach lbw Shaheen Shah Afridi 7
J Seales not out 0
Extras (b-4, lb-2, nb-5, w-1) 12
Total (83.2 overs, all out) 219
Fall of wickets: 1-34 (Powell), 2-65 (Joseph), 3-69 (Bonner), 4-73 (Chase), 5-101 (Blackwood), 6-113 (Brathwaite), 7-159 (Mayers), 8-199 (Holder), 9-212 (Roach), 10-219 (da Silva)
Bowling: Mohammad Abbas 14-3-42-0, Shaheen Shah Afridi 17.2-5-43-4 (1w), Hasan Ali 14-6-37-2 (1nb), Faheem Ashraf 13-5-36-0, Nauman Ali 22-7-52-3 (2nb), Fawad Alam 3-1-3-0
Result: Pakistan won by 109 runs
Toss: West Indies
Umpires: Gregory Brathwaite (BAR), Joel Wilson (TRI)
Match Referee: Sir Richie Richardson