Composed Brathwaite leads West Indies' recovery
Kraigg Brathwaite's marathon 95* off 206 helped West Indies claw their way back from early trouble and have a shot at a first-innings lead over Pakistan in Sharjah
Kraigg Brathwaite's marathon 95* off 206 helped West Indies claw their way back from early trouble and have a shot at a first-innings lead over Pakistan in Sharjah
Scorer: Binoy | Commentator: Shashank Kishore
10.40am Kraigg Brathwaite - Remember the name! Carried his bat through in the first innings, fielded for most parts of both Pakistan innings. Then came back to notch up a half-century and guide a tricky chase. It wasn't as tense as anticipated, but a fantastic contest nevertheless. First Test win for Holder as captain. Proud, proud moment for them. So, West Indies have something to show for what has been an otherwise long and hard tour. This is West Indies' first away win against a side ranked above them since 2007.
Jason Holder: We showed character and fight. Credit must go to Kraigg Brathwaite. He played an outstanding innings in the first innings and took responsibility in the second innings. Lost the toss, but Shannon Gabriel was outstanding for us with the new ball. That helped us take the momentum. It feels good to contribute to the team win. This has been a long time coming, I've had tough Test matches over the last year or so. We're a young side in transition. We've done a lot of things good this series. We just need to keep supporting one another. Yes, we'll have one or two people coming in and going out, but the longer we stay together as a group, the better it is for West Indies cricket.
Misbah-ul-Haq collects the winners trophy, but is clearly unhappy with the loss, as he should be. "It's always disappointing to lose a Test. Yes, the series is important but it's not good to lose. You don't want to lose momentum. We made a lot of mistakes," he says. "Credit to West Indies. They kept improving and we kept losing momentum. We were well below our standards, especially in the batting department. There was no discipline, there was bad shot selection. Clearly, if our main weapon is not getting any sort of turn on the last day, that was also disappointing for us. With this team, I'm sure we have the ability to come back strong. Everyone's hurt from this defeat. Conditions in New Zealand and Australia will be difficult, but this team loves challenges, and I'm hopeful we'll do well. In Tests, you at least need to score 350 when the pitch is really good. This was a batting paradise and we just collapsed in both innings. Their batting discipline was really good. Sorry to all the fans who believed in us and came out to support us.
Kraigg Brathwaite is the Man of the Match. "I've been playing with Shane since secondary school. The plan was to just keep rotating strike and bring the target down. I think we have a good group of young guys. When we go back to first-class cricket, we've to repeat what we've done there to be ready for our next Test series in the Caribbean. It was a tough Test for us as well, Pakistan also played well. We had to work really hard, very happy to come out on top. I know my weak and strong areas, I just worked around my strengths and backed my ability. On a low pitch, I thought front foot will give you more runs than on the back foot. This has been the best batting Test match so far of my career. I hope to repeat this feat many times in my career. I've had a good start. The key is to maintain it. I don't want to get comfortable. I just want to continue working hard and score a lot of runs.
Shannon Gabriel: No one gave us a chance after the ODIs and T20Is, but the guys stuck together. It was a confidence booster to perform here. The team management backed my ability. It was tough bowling here. There wasn't much assistance for the fast bowlers. I don't think my no-ball issue is a major concern. Probably I overstep in trying to bowl fast at times. Physically I'm tired, but I still have a few games to go. Hopefully I'll be ready for our next international assignment.
Yasir Shah is the Man of the series for picking up 21 wickets.
Shane Dowrich: This is a special feeling. The way we played this Test is the way we should play going forward. We were positive right from the start. I just told myself I'll be positive this morning since Kraigg is the anchorman. We knew if we would stay positive, we'd win here. Test cricket has been my dream growing up. I'd love to continue to perform for West Indies.
Kraigg Brathwaite has already shown he has the temperament to play long innings; in Sharjah, he did it under enormous pressure, and became the first opener ever to remain unbeaten through both innings of a Test match
Jason Holder, the West Indies captain, doffed his hat to Kraigg Brathwaite after the opener's instrumental role in the side's first Test win since May 2015
Stats highlights from the fifth day in Sharjah where West Indies registered a rare Test win against a strong side
After losing the ODIs and T20Is 0-3 to Pakistan, West Indies showed more resistance than most would have expected to finish the Test series 1-2