Following a victory in 1st test, West Indies will be eager to continue their purple patch in test cricket, by clean-sweeping the under confident Pakistan side in the 2nd Test in Port of Spain.
Pakistan’s abysmal run in the ongoing World Test Championship edition continued, with a 4th defeat in 5 matches and they sit at the bottom of the table with merely 4 points out of 60 and the home side are placed 8th in the table.
Pakistan Preview for the 2nd Test in Port of Spain
For a good chunk of the 1st test, Pakistan were ahead and at one stage were looking likely to script a lead, after trailing by 67 runs with 7 wickets in hand at the 2nd of Day 2.
However, what followed was a typical Pakistan batting collapse, which has now become somewhat of an epidemic, who went on to hand the West Indies a slender but important 29-run 1st innings lead.
With the pitch getting spicier, West Indies handed the men in green a target of 211, which they fell 90 short of. As far as the batting order is concerned, only Imam-ul-Haq, Shan Masood and Babar Azam were the bright spots with the left handed duo scoring 63 and 109 in the 1st innings and the Pakistan captain scoring 58 not out during the chase.
Shan Masood batted at number 8 in the chase, owing to a broken index finger and was subsequently ruled out of the 2nd Test in Port of Spain, with Abdullah Shafique, Saud Shakeel and newbie Awais Zafar in line for a spot.
The bowling lineup despite having an average speed of 128.4kph, troubled a vulnerable West Indies batting lineup but the green shirts might be tempted to bring in Ubaid Shah in place of Aamir Jamal or even Ali Usman.
Ubaid possesses the inherent ability to consistently bowl in excess of 140kph and as seen with the trouble Shamar Joseph caused the Pakistan batting lineup, bringing in the young speedster is not a bad shout.
Players to watch out for
Babar Azam looked untroubled during the chase of 211 as the rest of the batting lineup fell like a pack of cards around him.
The Pakistan captain was teased with the outside off-stump deliveries but maintained his patience and chose to instead score off the deliveries coming in at him, mainly square of the wicket, mid-wicket and mid-on.
He will have to be at his best if Pakistan are to have a chance of drawing the series and avoid yet another test series defeat before heading off for a challenging tour of England.
Mohammad Abbas was another player, who was impeccable with his line and lengths, causing trouble to the home side whenever he came on to bowl.
The veteran pacer ended with combined figures of 8-85 in 41.5 overs, proving that even though age is not on his side, he still is Pakistan’s best test bowler in recent times despite playing only 30 matches in a 9-year span.
West Indies Preview for the 2nd Test in Port of Spain
Led by Roston Chase, West Indies headed into this series with renewed confidence, following a home series win against Sri Lanka just a month earlier.
While Pakistan did expose their batting’s vulnerabilities, contributions by Kavem Hodge (84), Shai Hope (92) and useful lower order runs by Kemar Roach and Shamar Joseph ensured the bowling lineup had enough runs to play with.
Tagenarine Chanderpaul did a fairly reasonable job in seeing off the new ball but was unfortunate to lose his wicket in both innings after getting a start.
Veteran pacer Kemar Roach showed his class yet again, proving why he is still one of West Indies’ best bowlers in recent times, while Shamar Joseph and Jayden Seales troubled a shaky Pakistan batting lineup.
Justin Greaves wreaked havoc with the bowl, ending with combined figures of 7-39 in 16 overs, also recording his maiden test fifers.
Roston Chase emphasised in the pre-match press conference for the 2nd Test in Port of Spain, that he wanted to make home advantage count. Bearing that in mind, expect West Indies to go with an unchanged playing XI.
Players to watch out for
All-rounder Justin Greaves contributed to 7 out of 20 wickets in the opening test, but was unable to show any heroics with the bat.
Greaves scored a match saving double century against New Zealand in Christchurch, so he is no rookie with the bat. He was already shown what he can do with the ball, but the 32-year-old will be eager to score runs with the bat too.
Shamar Joseph is another player to watch out for in the 2nd Test in Port of Spain, because what makes him dangerous is his ability to maintain his line and length and consistently do so at a pace of 140kph+.
Moreover, Pakistan were also on the receiving end of his batting heroics as his knock of 38 in the 2nd innings, proving to be a match winning one.
Predicted lineups
West Indies: Tagenarine Chanderpaul, Brandon King, Kavem Hodge, Amir Jangoo, Shai Hope (wk), Justin Greaves, Roston Chase (c), Kemar Roach, Shamar Joseph, Jomel Warrican, Jayden Seales.
Pakistan: Azan Awais, Imam-ul-Haq, Abdullah Shafique, Babar Azam (c), Saud Shakeel, Mohammad Rizwan (wk), Agha Salman, Ubaid Shah, Mohammad Ali, Khurram Shahzad, Mohammad Abbas.
