SECOND Advantage Pakistan as Shah snares six
Bridgetown (Barbados), May 4: Yasir Shah’s stranglehold of the West Indies continued on the fourth day of the second Test at Kensington Oval in Barbados on Wednesday as the leg-spinner snared 6/90 to re-open the prospect of a first-ever Test match victory at the venue for Pakistan going into the final day.
Despite a patient, disciplined Test best of 90 from Shai Hope and a succession of half-century partnerships that raised expectations of the home side batting their way to safety, West Indies slipped from the relative comfort of 235/4 to be 264/9 at stumps.
They go into the final day on Thursday ahead by 183 runs with the last pair at the crease.
On a deteriorating pitch, Pakistan’s final target may still be a challenging one as they seek the historic win which would also give them a first-ever Test series triumph in the Caribbean.
“Man of the Match” in the seven-wicket win the first Test in Jamaica, Shah was again the key performer when it mattered most for Pakistan.
Hope appeared to have blunted the threat successfully through more than five hours of watchful batsmanship. However within sight of a maiden Test hundred, he drove Shah to cover where Azhar Ali held the catch that triggered the late slide.
Having broken an 80-run fifth-wicket partnership with Vishaul Singh, Pakistan were celebrating again off the very next SCORECARD
West Indies (1st Innings): 312 Pakistan (1st Innings): 393 West Indies (2nd Innings, o/n 40/1): K. Brathwaite c Younis Khan b Shah 43, K. Powell c wkpr Ahmed b Abbas 6, S. Hetmyer b Amir 22, S. Hope c Ali b Shah 90, R. Chase c and b Shah 23, V. Singh b Abbas 32, S. Dowrich c Shafiq b Yasir 2, J. Holder c Younis Khan b Shah 1, D. Bishoo not out 16, A. Joseph c Amir b Shah 7, S. Gabriel not out 0. Extras: (b16, lb2, nb1, w3) 22. Total: (for 9 wkts, in 102 overs) 264. FoW: 1-8, 2-41, 3-97, 4-155, 5235, 6-235, 7-236, 8-252, 9261 Bowling: M. Amir 21-8-44-1 (1w), M. Abbas 25-6-57-2 (2w), Y. Shah 39-12-90-6, S. Khan 17-0-55-0 (1nb)
delivery as Singh was on his way back to the pavilion, bowled off the inside edge by seamer Mohammad Abbas for 32.
Three wickets fell for one run when Younis Khan held his fifth catch of the match, a brilliant reflex effort at slip to remove West Indies captain Jason Holder off Shah.
Monaco did grow into the game after a slow start and teen sensation Kylian Mbappe was first to test Gianluigi Buffon with a header from Nabil Dirar’s ball that the veteran goalkeeper held easily.
In the 16th minute the same trio were involved again, Dirar surging down the right and delivering a teasing ball to the near post that Mbappe diverted towards goal, with Buffon saving superbly.
Buffon, playing his 149th European game at the age of 39, started his career before Mbappe was born. But he remains one of the world’s best and shortly after he was there to turn the ball behind after Radamel Falcao met another Dirar delivery with a terrific leap.