By Staff Reporter
MULTAN: West Indies pulled off a stunning 120-run victory over Pakistan in the second Test in Multan on Monday, with Jomel Warrican’s 9-70 match haul helping to level the two-match series 1-1 and condemn Pakistan to their first home Test defeat in nearly two years.
Pakistan won the first Test by 127 runs, also in Multan.
“Jomel was outstanding,” West Indies Skipper Kraigg Brathwaite said in a post-match interview. “To see how he went about his bowling and the pressure he built from ball one, I mean, it was amazing.”
Brathwaite praised Warrican’s all-round performance, saying: “With the bat, you can’t come to him more. I think he did a fantastic job with the bat as well. But bowling-wise, I know he’s worked hard over the years.”
The 32-year-old left-arm spinner took nine wickets to spearhead a series-levelling win against the hosts on the third day. Warrican’s match-winning performance included a crucial 36 not out in the first innings, which lifted the West Indies from a precarious 9-95 to 163 all out.
The West Indies captain drew parallels between Warrican’s performance and that of Shamar Joseph in Australia 12 months ago. “This one is right up there, both amazing Test wins,” Brathwaite said. “To come here, playing here in Pakistan, it’s never easy to win a Test match so to have done that is fantastic.”
Pakistan, chasing 254 for victory, resumed on 76-4 on the third day but were bowled out for 133, with Warrican taking four wickets in the morning session.
The home side lost Saud Shakeel in the first over of the day when he edged a Kevin Sinclair delivery to Kavem Hodge in the slips when on 13. Nightwatcher Kashif Ali was then bowled by Warrican for one in the next over to open up the Pakistan tail.
Muhammad Rizwan, who scored 25, and Salman Ali Agha, who added 15, showed some resistance but fell in quick succession to Warrican and leave Pakistan reeling on 128-8.
Noman Ali was dismissed by Gudakesh Motie to put Windies on the brink. Left-armer Warrican then bowled Sajid Khan to seal the win and end as the series’ top wicket-taker with 19.
Pakistan captain Shan Masood conceded that his team made mistakes, allowing West Indies to score crucial runs. “We allowed them to score 109 runs for the last two wickets and then we were 119-4 and then bowled out for 154 and conceded a nine-run lead, that pushed us back,” Masood said.
Masood acknowledged that his team’s mistakes proved costly. “We made mistakes as a team and lost as a team,” he said.
Pakistan’s batters also found the conditions tough to bat on, raising calls to have similar pitches in domestic matches where fast bowlers have ruled in the past two seasons.
The Pakistan captain defended his team’s tactic of using dry pitches to assist spin bowlers, citing their recent series win against England.
“We’ve won three out of four Tests,” Masood said. “We have to replicate these conditions in our domestic matches so that our batters can also bat better in future.”
The victory marked West Indies’ first Test win in Pakistan in nearly 35 years, lifting them to eighth in the World Test Championship standings. Pakistan dropped to last place in the standings after the defeat.
The last time Windies won a Test in Pakistan was in Faisalabad in November 1990.
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