Sharjah: It was the best day for West Indies on their disastrous tour so far and they made full use of it. After their opener Kraigg Brathwaite stood like a colossus to carry his bat through to crack an unbeaten 142 and give a 56 runs first innings lead over Pakistan on the third day of the third and final Test at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium, skipper Jason Holder struck with the ball to take three vital wickets.
Pakistan plunged into disaster with their senior most batsmen Younis Khan falling for a duck and their skipper Misbah Ul Haq out for just four runs even before the lead could be wiped away.
Brathwaite became the fifth West Indies opener after Frank Worrell, Conrad Hunte, Desmond Haynes and Chris Gayle to carry his bat through. His morale-lifting knock off 318 balls with eleven boundaries has placed West Indies in a commanding position. It dimmed the glory of Pakistan pacer Wahab Riaz who produced his second five-wicket spell in Test Cricket.
Holder removed Sami Aslam, Asad Shafiq and Younis Khan, while Roston Chase forced Misbah to pull to Devendra Bishoo at deep backward square leg. Pakistan are ahead by only 31 runs now with six wickets in hand. The Test is poised for an exciting finish with Azhar Ali unconquered on 45 and Sarfraz Ahmad unbeaten on 19 at the crease.
It took Brathwaite only five balls to reach his century from his overnight score of 95. He hit the first ball of the day from Mohammad Amir to the boundary — placing the shot elegantly between gully and point. He reached his fifth century and second ton away from home by finding the gap between midwicket and mid-on. When he removed his helmet and raised his bat towards the dressing room, the whole West Indies team stood up to applaud him. It was a century made in a tough situation and he deserved the cheers.
When West Indies still needed 18 more runs for the lead, their skipper Holder fell to a beauty from Amir. Holder shouldered arms to Amir’s good length delivery that angled to take the bails away. Holder and Brathwaite had added 29 runs for the seventh wicket. Next man Devendra Bishoo, keeping his head down, gave Brathwaite the support needed to go past Pakistan’s first innings total and even the 300 run mark.
Brathwaite on 122 escaped being caught by wicketkeeper Sarfraz Ahmad off Mohammad Nawaz. Sarfraz fumbled with the catch onto the grille of his helmet before the ball touched the ground. In the same over, Nawaz failed to get Bishoo’s wicket as the paddle shot hit Azhar Ali’s helmet first at short leg though he took the catch.
By lunch, West Indies were ahead by 33 runs. Pakistan were forced to bowl 27.1 overs to break the Bishoo-Brathwaite partnership which produced 60 runs. Bishoo scored 27 runs playing out 85 balls and hitting two boundaries before Riaz had him caught behind with an angling delivery that straightened after pitching. It was a stubborn knock and the partnership frustrated Pakistan heavily.
Riaz also removed next man Alzarri Joseph who could last only ten balls to score six runs. Joseph hit straight to Yasir Shah in the cover. Riaz completed his second five-wicket haul in Test cricket by having last man Shannon Gabriel edge to the wicketkeeper.
Pakistan began their second innings with opener Azhar Ali, who fell for a duck in the first innings, stroking well. He drove Joseph twice through the covers for boundaries. The plan of the Pakistan team was very clear with the openers batting cautiously to ensure that the lead is wiped off without any loss of wicket but Holder upset their plan. Aslam, who was the top scorer of Pakistan’s first innings with 74 runs, fell to Holder’s bouncer which he hooked but top edged to Joseph at fine leg for 17. Holder struck again forcing Asad Shafiq to play into the hands of Darren Bravo at gully for a pair. It was his second pair in Test cricket after he got out for a duck in both innings against England in Birmingham this August.
Pakistan plunged into deep trouble when Holder dismissed Younis Khan too for a duck, caught down the leg side by wicketkeeper Shane Dowrich.
Scoreboard at close on the third day of the third and final Test between Pakistan and England at Sharjah stadium on Tuesday:
Pakistan first innings 281 (Sami Aslam 74, Misbah-ul-Haq 53, Younis Khan 51, Sarfraz Ahmed 51; D. Bishoo 4-77)
West Indies first innings (overnight 244-6)
K. Brathwaite not out 142
L. Johnson lbw b Riaz 1
D. Bravo c Amir b Babar 11
M. Samuels lbw b Shah 0
J. Blackwood c Shafiq b Amir 23
R. Chase c Younis b Amir 50
S. Dowrich b Riaz 47
J. Holder b Amir 16
D. Bishoo c Ahmed b Riaz 27
A. Joseph c Shah b Riaz 6
S. Gabriel c Ahmed b Riaz 0
Extras: (lb6, nb8) 14
Total: (all out; 115.4 overs) 337
Fall of wickets: 1-6 (Johnson), 2-32 (Bravo), 3-38 (Samuels), 4-68 (Blackwood), 5-151 (Chase), 6-234 (Dowrich), 7-263 (Holder), 8-323 (Bishoo), 9-333 (Joseph)
Bowling: Amir 25-5-71-3 (5nb), Riaz 26.4-1-88-5 (3nb), Shah 26-2-80-1, Babar 21-3-56-1, Nawaz 11-2-20-0, Ali 6-0-16-0
Pakistan 2nd innings
Sami Aslam c Joseph b Holder 17
Azhar Ali not out 45
Asad Shafiq c Bravo b Holder 0
Younis Khan c Dowrich b Holder 0
Misbah-ul-Haq c Bishoo b Chase 4
Sarfraz Ahmed not out 19
Extras: (nb2) 2
Total: (for four wkts; 39 overs) 87
To bat: Mohammad Nawaz, Yasir Shah, Wahab Riaz, Mohammad Amir, Zulfiqar Babar
Fall of wickets: 1-37 (Aslam), 2-41 (Shafiq), 3-41 (Younis), 4-48 (Misbah)
Bowling: Gabriel 8-1-14-0 (2nb), Joseph 6-1-16-0, Holder 9-4-10-3, Brathwaite 1-0-5-0, Chase 13-1-39-1, Bishoo 2-0-3-0
Toss: Pakistan
Umpires: Michael Gough (ENG) and Paul Reiffel (AUS)
TV umpire: Richard Illingworth (ENG)
Match referee: Jeff Crowe (NZL)
