KINGSTON - Yasir Shah completed a six-wicket haul to spearhead the second innings rout of the West Indies as Pakistan achieved a comfortable seven-wicket victory just after lunch on the final day of the first Test on Tuesday.
Trailing on first innings by 121 runs and resuming at the overnight position of 93 for four, the home side were dismissed for 152 after less than two hours' play at Sabina Park in Jamaica.
Needing just 32 runs for a 1-0 lead in the three-Test series, the tourists lost three wickets either side of the interval and it was left to captain Misbah ul Haq to end Pakistan's abysmal run of six consecutive Test match defeats with consecutive sixes off Devendra Bishoo.
Having taken the first four wickets late on the fourth evening, Shah was kept waiting for more success at the start of play on the fifth day as the visitors' faster bowlers took up the challenge of continuing the demolition job by taking the next four wickets.
"It was tricky. When you're chasing such a small target, you tend to relax, but that can happen in cricket", said Misbah, the Pakistan captain. "We won the game in the end, so pretty satisfied with that and good to see the team doing well. The bowlers did well, especially Aamir in the first innings and Aamir and Yasir, especially Yasir in the second innings, getting six onn a still battable pitch. This pitch had a lot of moisture which is why we had to bowl three seamers. We can have three fast bowlers and two spinners, but it is difficult. Let's see what kind of pitch we get in the net two matches. I have always said if you are not enjoying, you need to go. I am not the kind of person who lingers on. I have thoroughly enjoyed my time with the boys."
However, the leg-spinner, who bowled unchanged from one end throughout the morning's play, was not to be denied another five-wicket innings haul. He wrapped up the innings with the wickets of tailenders Alzarri Joseph and Shannon Gabriel in the space of four deliveries in his 22nd over, finishing with the excellent innings figures of six for 63 and a match haul of eight for 154.
"It was tough for me during the last series in Australia and I was happy to get back among the wickets here," he said after receiving the 'Man of the Match' award. "Those rough areas on the pitch were very helpful to me and I hope I can continue with this sort of performance for the rest of the series. I played in the England series and did well. The Australia series did not have much for the spinners. I just pray that I perform well in this series."
Shah was expected to pose an immediate threat at the start of play but it was Mohammad Aamir who initiated the final tumble of wickets, inducing an error of judgement from Vishaul Singh, who was bowled offering no shot to the left-arm fast bowler.
Mohammad Abbas replaced Aamir and almost immediately struck two critical blows. Nightwatchman Bishoo, who had defied the Pakistanis for over an hour, flashed at a wide delivery to be well caught by Younus Khan at second slip for 18.
Shane Dowrich was then trapped palpably LBW two balls later and at 129 for seven the die was effectively cast.
Jason Holder joined Roston Chase and the pair hinted briefly at a repetition of the resistance they showed a year earlier when the West Indies batted through the last day at the same venue to ensure a draw in the second Test of a four-match series against India.
History was not to be repeated, though, as Wahab Riaz replaced Abbas and accounted for the West Indies captain via a catch behind as Holder essayed a loose drive, providing the opportunity for Shah to finish off the innings in the next over.
"It's pretty frustrating because we need to see our young players learning and improving at the top of the batting order," said a disappointed Holder in the aftermath of defeat. "Our bowlers tried really hard but we didn't help ourselves in the field with the number of chances that we missed."
Any expectation of Pakistan knocking off the required runs swiftly were ended by the dismissals of Ahmed Shehzad and Azhar Ali in successive overs. Shehzad edged a catch to wicketkeeper Dowrich off Gabriel while Ali played on to Joseph before lunch.
Younus Khan fell upon the resumption, leg-before to Bishoo, but with Babar Azam, the heir apparent to the departing star batsman looking on from the other end, Misbah heaved consecutive deliveries beyond the boundary to formalise the result and partially ease his own disappointment at being stranded on 99 not out in the first innings the day before.
Scoreboard
WEST INDIES 1ST INNINGS: 286
PAKISTAN 1ST INNINGS
(OVERNIGHT: 201-4):
Azhar Ali c Dowrich b Joseph 15
Ahmed Shehzad lbw Holder 31
Babar Azam b Gabriel 72
Yonus Khan c Brathwaite b Gabriel 58
Misbah ul Haq not out 99
Asad Shafiq c Dowrich b Gabriel 22
Sarfraz Ahmed b Bishoo 54
M Aamir c Dowrich b Joseph 11
Wahab Riaz b Joseph 9
Yasir Shah run out 8
M Abbas lbw Chase 1
EXTRAS: (b4, lb10, nb12, w1) 27
TOTAL: (all out, 138.4 overs) 407
FOW: 1-23, 2-54, 3-185, 4-186, 5-236, 6-324, 7-341, 8-355, 9-373, 10-407
BOWLING: S Gabriel 29-6-92-3, A Joseph 31-8-71-3, J Holder 30-7-65-1, D Bishoo 33-2-106-1, R Chase 8.4-1-37-1, K Brathwaite 7-1-22-0
WEST INDIES 2ND INNINGS:
(OVERNIGHT: 93-4):
K Brathwaite b Shah 14
K Powell c Younus b Shah 49
S Hetmyer b Shah 20
S Hope lbw Shah 6
D Bishoo c Younus b Abbas 18
V Singh b Aamir 9
R Chase not out 16
S Dowrich lbw Abbas 0
J Holder c Sarfraz b Riaz 14
A Joseph lbw Shah 1
S Gabriel c Abbas b Shah 0
EXTRAS: (lb5) 5
TOTAL: (all out, 52.4 overs) 152
FOW: 1-22, 2-72, 3-84, 4-89, 5-110, 6-129, 7-129, 8-151, 9-152, 10-152
BOWLING: M Aamir 14-4-20-1, M Abbas 11-1-35-2, Yasir Shah 21.4-4-63-6, Wahab Riaz 6-0-29-1
PAKISTAN 2ND INNINGS:
Azhar Ali b Joseph 1
Ahmed Shehzad c Dowrich b Gabriel 6
Babar Azam not out 9
Younus Khan lbw Bishoo 6
Misbahul Haq not out 12
EXTRAS: (lb2) 2
TOTAL: (3 wkts, 10.5 overs) 36
FOW: 1-7, 2-7, 3-24
BOWLING: S Gabriel 3-1-7-1, A Joseph 3-1-6-1, D Bishoo 2.5-0-19-1, J Holder 2-1-2-0
TOSS: Pakistan
UMPIRES: Richard Illingworth (ENG), Richard Kettleborough (ENG)
MATCH REFEREE: Chris Broad (ENG)
