Shaheen Afridi, Nauman Ali bowl Pakistan to series-levelling win
Afridi takes ten for the match as West Indies fold in the final session
Afridi takes ten for the match as West Indies fold in the final session
2W | ||||
1W | 1W | |||
1W |
1W | ||||
Scorer: Binoy George | Commentator: Varun Shetty
4.10pm And that is all we have from this series. I will leave you with some of your own thoughts here below. Thanks for joining us through this lovely Test, especially those of you who stayed up in the subcontinent. On behalf of Shashank and Binoy, this is Varun signing off.
Bilal: "Well played Nauman too! Took wickets at crucial times when pacers weren't."
Shiraz: "3 for 2 reminded me of 26/6 Kolkata in 1999 and 41/6 Karachi in 2005 and I thought, sure enough, we can win this."
Babar Azam: It was an important game for us after losing the first one. The way I played with Fawad and made that partnership was crucial and I thank the almighty for getting us this win. The partnership helped us and then that exceptional spell from Shaheen yesterday made things easy for us. We knew that the ball would turn on the last day and it worked out well. [Declaration] The plan was to take it to 330-340 and give them whatever number of overs were left after that on day 4. We needed to win the series so we had to take a bold decision. The bowlers delivered, Nauman especially on the final day, took some crucial wickets. We thought the last day would help the spinners, some patches were being formed. We knew it would assist Nauman and he used it well. [Shaheen] he is a genuine talent, seems like he's improving day by day and it's lovely to have and watch someone like him in the team.
Shaheen Afridi: Such a great effort, it's a team effort. The team needed from me and I delivered this time. It was tough because last day and the weather is really hot. As a team we knew that getting one wicket would get us another, so we looked to give 100%. All credit goes to my brother Riaz Afridi - he's a brother, he's a father, he's everything to me. Credit to my family as well who are always praying for me.
Shaheen Afridi is the Player of the Match and the Player of the Series.
K Brathwaite: I think we were behind the 8-ball from the start. I think it's mindset. Test cricket is never easy. All the guys technically can bat, it's all mindset. First 30 balls if always the toughest period and finding out ways through that phase is key for us. I still think it's a positive since we didn't lose the series. We let ourselves down in the first innings of this match. Kudos to the bowlers again for leading the way. We made some strides in the series, but this Test the first innings really let us down. [Seales] is a star in the making, you see him getting over 250 wickets. I know he has a big future ahead. With the experience in our bowling group guiding, he for sure is a future star. [Pakistan] as a bowling unit they were very consistent. Batting wise, their guys who got in in the first innings went big.
Asif Afridi: "From 3 for 2 to winning it comprehensively despite a day being washed out. Must make some history books! Congrats Pakistan!"
Wasim: "I believe that was a very brave decision to declare with windies to chase 329... But that has paid off... "
Statsfan: "The previous ball of the last FOUR wickets was hit a FOUR."
Awais Syed: "Given Shaheen shares his last name with another Pakistani legend every time he does the star man pose it gives me goosebumps!"
Adnan: "I think, Abbas also took a 10-fer against Aus in UAE.. so is that best after Asif Stat correct??" --- Yeah, by a run! Abbas had 10/95
3.52pm That's ten wickets in the game for Shaheen, first time in his career. His match figures of 10/94 are the best by a Pakistan pacer since Mohammad Asif (11/71 vs Sri Lanka in Kandy) in April 2006. Runs to the non-striker's end and rips up a stump for his collection. He finishes with 18 in the series, taking at least four in each innings. Lovely comeback win this for Pakistan, after starting the match three down for just two runs. They were also 1-0 down coming into this game, and they have turned that around before leaving. Fawad Alam and Babar Azam laid the foundation. Then, we had rain washing out the entire second day. A result suddenly seemed hard after that. But, starting from yesterday, Pakistan have managed to take 17 West Indies wickets while having a free hit in the middle - scoring at over six an over before declaring - to seal the win. Mohammad Abbas and Hassan Ali playing their parts, and Nauman Ali really showing up today when they weren't; but at his end, Shaheen was just going on and on, getting a wicket every time it was asked of him. Pakistan win by 109 runs.
J Da Silva c Faheem Ashraf b Shaheen Shah Afridi 15 (52b 2x4 0x6) SR: 28.84
Omair: "I hope Shaheen gets 10. He deserves it so much."
Abbas going around the wicket to Seales
Rizwan is up to the stumps now to stop Da Silva from walking out at Abbas
The future of Pakistan pace bowling looks safe in Afridi's hands, as long as those who manage his workload remain vigilant
Fawad Alam goes up 34 positions to reach 21st position among batters
With the Test series leveled, Pakistan haven't lost a multi-match bilateral series against West Indies since 2000
West Indies captain Kraigg Brathwaite bemoans team's lack of 'consistency' as series ends 1-1
The home side's bowling continued to impress but they rarely had runs to play with