2nd Test, Kingston, Aug 20 - 24 2021, Pakistan tour of West Indies

Scorecard & Cricket Highlights

Day 1

The first four overs set Pakistan back significantly, but the day was defined by a behemoth of a partnership between Babar Azam and Fawad Alam. Under blisteringly hostile conditions for at least the first two sessions that saw no fewer than three players forced off the field, the duo put together a 158-run stand to drag Pakistan from the depths into a position of clear dominance.

They were forced together after Kemar Roach and Jayden Seales scythed through Pakistan's embattled top order to leave them three wickets down for two runs, but the attritional rebuild means it has been Pakistan's day. Alam is still unbeaten, but cramps forced him off to bring his stand with Azam to an end and while the Pakistan captain fell soon after, those were the only four wickets West Indies managed as Pakistan put on 212 on the day.

Winning the toss, Kraigg Brathwaite had little hesitation putting Pakistan in to bat, and inside ten minutes, it became apparent why. Abid Ali lasted just three deliveries, pushing - without real footwork and with disappointing familiarity - at one from Roach around the fourth stump line, edging to Jermaine Blackwood in the slips. Azhar Ali became Roach's next victim, falling for a duck in similar style, with the ball kissing the outside edge and leaving the secure Joshua Da Silva to do the rest.

Seales piled on the misery for Pakistan, inducing the hapless Imran Butt into a forward defensive prod that, on review, was shown to have tickled the outside edge. Aside from Irfan Pathan's famous first-over hat-trick at Karachi, this would be Pakistan's joint-worst Test match start in history.

If that represented rock bottom, Azam and Alam used it as a solid enough foundation to begin the rebuild. Both looked vulnerable against an irrepressible seam bowling display from Seales and Roach early on, but the Pakistan captain looked to break out of it through aggression. A mistimed slash over point brought him his first runs, and from there, batting looked to have become easier for Pakistan's premier batter.

It was initially less straightforward for Alam. He looked particularly vulnerable around his off stump, Jason Holder and Roach in particular beating his outside edge a number of times, while three of his four boundaries came off thick edges to the slips. However, survival was the primary goal, and on that count, it was mission accomplished.

Azam looked just as comfortable in the middle session but much more sedate, especially once he brought up his half-century with a regal late cut behind backward point off Roach, a bowler he targeted in particular early on in the session. He was particular strong square of the wicket, as you might expect, and the slightest infraction when it came to line was a candidate for a put-away boundary.

Alam was significantly improved throughout the session, far more assured with his shot selection and more progressive in his approach. A struggling Alzarri Joseph, who came off on the stroke of tea, came in for particular punishment, with Alam bringing up his own half-century with a boundary off the 24-year old. Those fidgety outside edges that kept the slips interested were kept to a minimum, but Alam, too, would find himself suffering through the elements as the sun beat down. The weather seemed to be indiscriminate in the toll it was taking, and Da Silva was forced off the field for a spot of rehydration before the session was out.

The one-dimensional nature of West Indies attack - they don't have any left-arm pacers or full-time spinners - arguably saw their woes exacerbated as the Pakistan pair batted themselves into a nice rhythm. Brathwaite turned to Roston Chase for a short spell, only to see Pakistan targeting him, and on a sizzling day, the home side had to turn to their quicks once more.

By this point, it was hard to see who might bring West Indies a breakthrough, but Alam was beginning to cramp pretty much every delivery. The game's momentum took a beating, too, and there was a touch of the farcical cricket seems to produce more often than just about any other sport on the stroke of tea. Da Silva needed to be taken off with one ball to go in the session, but the regulations stipulated the over had to be completed before the players broke for tea. It meant there was a lengthy pause while his replacement got himself ready, all to send down a delivery before another 20-minute break.

Alam's woes continued post-tea, and it soon became apparent carrying on was impossible. The Jamaican sun had done what Brathwaite's men hadn't looked like achieving for nigh on five hours, and with life injected into the home side, Azam, the epitome of solidity, suddenly began to look susceptible.

Two balls after Roach whooshed past his outside edge with prodigious late swing, he found a juicy chunk of it which went to Holder at second slip. West Indies roared with excitement, sensing a swing in momentum; one way or another, they had removed both Azam and Alam. By now, the clouds were blocking out the sun, and with Mohammad Rizwan and Faheem Ashraf new at the crease, there was opportunity to wrestle back the momentum the hosts had lost through the afternoon.

It wouldn't quite happen that way. Ashraf is a genuine middle-order batsman since his return to the Test side in December; he averages over 40 with the bat, while Rizwan's versatility has seen him enjoy a meteoric rise of his own. The over rate was poor, and stoppages for one reason or another became commonplace; at one point, the emergence of swarms of flies at the ground resulted in a lengthy pause as Rizwan tried to prise one out of Joseph's eyes. The intensity had begun to bleed out of the contest, and as the light began to worsen, West Indies were forced into bowling spin from both ends.

Nkrumah Bonner, who Brathwaite turned to, is no Sonny Ramadhin; in truth, he was no Roston Chase either. Sending down three no-balls in the only over he bowled, it appeared everyone had had enough, and a day that began explosively ended - after just 74 overs - with a bit of a whimper.

Day 2

The second day of the second Test between West Indies and Pakistan was washed out completely, with no action possible due to intermittent rain and a wet outfield. The start of play was delayed for a persistent drizzle, forcing the umpires into taking an early lunch. Moments after that announcement, however, the clouds scattered and the rain stopped, only to resume just before a second inspection.

It would be that sort of day, with the weather teasing at the prospect of some cricket, before eventually match officials conceded victory and called it a day at 4.05pm local time.

It leaves the match situation where it was at stumps on day one, with Pakistan having lost four wickets for 212. Faheem Ashraf and Mohammad Rizwan are unbeaten, with Fawad Alam having retired hurt on the stroke of tea on the first day.

Play will start half an hour early, at 9.30am local time, on Sunday with 98 overs scheduled to be bowled.

West Indies lead the series 1-0, having triumphed in the first game by one wicket.

Day 3

Pakistan found themselves on top at the end of day three thanks to Fawad Alam's unbeaten 124, but they have both the opposition and time to beat if they are to level this series.

Things went reasonably enough to plan for Babar Azam's men in the 53.2 overs that were possible, with West Indies' top order desperately engaged in damage limitation against Mohammad Abbas and Shaheen Afridi at twilight. The openers and Roston Chase were already back in the pavilion, with the hosts trailing by a further 263 runs with two days to go.

The West Indian innings might have spanned merely 18 overs on Sunday, but felt like it would be the defining period. Pakistan had to press the issue as they look to level the series, and a solid passage of play here for the hosts might well have dealt a decisive blow to those hopes.

Kieran Powell has been out of form for a while now, and when he offered his front pad to an Afridi delivery that looked like it had been programmed to hit middle stump, it was little surprise. Kraigg Brathwaite's dismissal felt like a bigger moment, the West Indies captain playing all around a textbook left-arm inswinger that crashed into his stumps. West Indies were down two wickets for nine, and there was still an hour to go.

These were dream bowling conditions for Abbas, and a blank wickets column should not detract from his devastating ability. The subtle seam movement that threatens both edges of the bat was on full display; at times the batters looked as at sea about the direction of travel as they might to a well-disguised googly. There were thick edges through the slips, stifled lbw appeals, and just brilliant intensity when he had ball in hand.

That Chase and Nkrumah Bonner found a way to hang on seemed like it might be vital, but Abbas had softened Chase up for Faheem Ashraf. It was the sort of dismissal Abbas might be proud of, with a length ball shaping back in off the seam, keeping a shade low and ripping past a bat Chase could not get down in time. Under rapidly deteriorating light, Alzarri Joseph was sent out to be the nightwatchman, and managed to stave off further damage to his side.

Despite bright sunshine on a day where 98 overs were originally scheduled to be bowled, only eight balls were possible before lunch had to be taken. A wet patch around the bowler's run-up at the Michael Holding end was the culprit, with Jason Holder bowling only two balls from that end before asking for the umpires to get involved. Lengthy discussions that involved the captains, coaches, umpires and match referee followed, before officials decided to break for lunch early.

The middle session was at times as soporific as the weather delays over the past four sessions had been, with just six runs scored in the day's first ten overs. Mohammad Rizwan and Ashraf eventually brought up the 50-run partnership, but were, in truth, going nowhere, even though Pakistan needed to force a result. Much of that was thanks to regimentally disciplined bowling, with the quick bowlers allowing few run-scoring opportunities.

Those wicket-to-wicket lines paid off, with both men dismissed lbw. Ashraf was the first to go, leaving a gap between bat and pad that Seales honed in on, while Rizwan moved too far across to Holder and caught himself stuck in front. Nauman Ali was dispatched for a first ball duck, and suddenly Holder found himself on a hat-trick, while West Indies sniffed a collapse.

The man of the day for Pakistan, though, was indisputably Alam, who continued to make a mockery of his decade-long exclusion from the national side with his fourth hundred this year. He had come back on after retiring hurt on the first day, and following the flurry of wickets at the other end, realised it was time to kick on.

A flick of the wrists that brought him four broke the shackles, and he found himself inching towards three figures. A pull to midwicket took him to the landmark, and as the dressing room rose as one, Alam raised his bat; he had overseen a Pakistan fightback in the session and ensured they ended the innings on their terms.

After tea, he kicked on in an entertaining 35-run stand with a cavalier Afridi, and when the No. 10 fell, Babar called his players back in. It felt only right that Alam went in undefeated, and, ever the team man, might have set Pakistan up for a remarkable series-salvaging win in the time that remains.

Day 4

The weather on day two and the farce around a damp patch near the pitch on the following day brought out the worst of Test cricket. But on day four, chasing a game to salvage the series and precious World Test Championship points, Pakistan ensured we saw the best of the grand old format, too.

Shaheen Afridi, among the brightest stars in world cricket, lit up the contest with a career-best six-wicket haul in the first innings, rolling what was left of the West Indies first innings over in a little more than a session. It allowed Pakistan a lead of 152, and permission to put on their T20 boots as they hurtled to 176 in 27.3 overs, ensuring West Indies would bat for 18 overs. They must now prevent Pakistan from taking nine wickets on Tuesday if they are to cling on to the series. West Indies, mind you, need 280 more runs for a clean sweep, but on the evidence of events on Monday, it seems a tough ask.

The elements seemed to have conspired to lead this game down the cul-de-sac of a pointless draw, but emboldened by having nothing to lose, Pakistan made it engrossing viewing. Afridi made short work of nightwatchman Alzarri Joseph in the morning, drawing a meaty outside edge that Babar Azam snaffled at third slip.

The spell that followed was perhaps Pakistan's most wayward, with Afridi, in particular, going too far down the leg side as he tried to exploit the angle into the right-hander. Mohammad Abbas prowled and menaced, but through a combination of Jermaine Blackwood's flamboyance and Nkrumah Bonner's steel, West Indies were finding a way.

Hasan Ali went after the stumps, too, perhaps to exploit Bonner's tendency to get out bowled or lbw, his mode of dismissal in six of his nine Test dismissals. But it gave away easy runs to fine leg and the pair soon brought up the 50-run partnership for the fifth wicket. At that point, it appeared to be the hosts' session.

Abbas changed all that in two deliveries. Not exactly two, because he had worked on softening Bonner up with inswinging deliveries before moving one away that kissed the outside edge. Kyle Mayers, yet to score a run this series, saw his wait extended by another innings after Abbas went around the wicket and induced him to poke at one.

West Indies were suddenly six down and Afridi was steaming in, enjoying a second wind. He went short to Blackwood, and even though the batter pulled him away for four once, he kept plugging away. A beast of a bouncer threatened to lodge up the batter's nostrils, and as Blackwood desperately fended it off, it flew up towards gully. Fawad Alam took an excellent catch as he leapt to his right, and both set batters had departed.

Jason Holder's exuberance saw Abbas targeted early after lunch, going for two fours and a six off his first seven deliveries. But it was only a matter of time before Afridi got rid of him, the batter coaxed into playing a loose drive that only took a feather off his outside edge. Azam held on to a sharp chance at midwicket to give Afridi his six-for, and Pakistan sprinted out to bat with a spring in their step.

Abid Ali and Imran Butt have had difficult tours, but neither worried too much about their personal numbers in the manner they approached the innings. Recognising that time in this Test remains a precious commodity, they got Pakistan off to a flyer, with Abid setting the tone by smashing three boundaries off his first four balls. West Indies, until now impressively consistent with the ball, didn't help themselves, allowing four byes and as many leg-byes inside the first three overs as the run rate shot up to nine.

West Indies are at their best when attacking the batters, but Pakistan's fast start put them in defensive mode. Jayden Seales went for three more boundaries in his third over, and as negative, wide-line bowling seeped into the hosts' game, Pakistan continued to press the issue. The openers and Azhar Ali fell before lunch in pursuit of quick runs, but it didn't stop Pakistan from bringing up the hundred in the 17th over on the stroke of tea.

Not that the break offered the hosts any respite. Pakistan continued to go hell for leather as West Indies receded further into defensive, negative tactics. It prompted the umpires to clamp down on wide bowling, but the runs were still flowing freely. Hasan was sent up to bash a few, and Mohammad Rizwan and Faheem Ashraf all joined the fun. When the captain Azam holed out, though, he decided enough was enough, and gave West Indies the last 90 minutes of the day to survive.

West Indies' top order resistance came to the party for the first time, seeing off the new ball. Abbas and Afridi weren't quite at their spellbinding first-innings best, but Pakistan would still have wanted to break through into the middle order quickly. But Kraigg Brathwaite left everything that wasn't on the stumps and kept out the rest, while Kieran Powell, fighting for his place in the side, took a cue from his captain and turned out his most assured performance of the series.

He would survive for more than an hour in hostile conditions, but no one will ever really remember that for how it ended. A classy cover drive from Brathwaite meant an easy three was on, and while Brathwaite jogged through to the non-striker's end, Powell was equally blasé at the end the ball was thrown to. Afridi's lob was headed directly for the stumps, and Rizwan, recognising that, let it go. Powell didn't bother to ground his bat, and a West Indies partnership Pakistan were struggling to break dissolved all by itself.

Unlike Sunday, however, there were no further wickets to fall. Nightwatchman Joseph ended the day as he started it, batting to keep his side in the game, and alongside his captain, lived to fight another day.

Day 5

2005, 2011 and 2021. Three two-match series in a row West Indies took the lead at home, only for Pakistan to drag them back to parity. Rain, wet outfield, poor light all conspired to try and deny Babar Azam's side triumph in this Test, but Pakistan's positive approach and relentlessness in pursuit of a result was rewarded with a hugely gratifying 109-run win.

Shaheen Afridi was the hero, finishing with a match haul of 10 wickets as West Indies folded against a well-rounded attack. It meant they will have to wait a few more years to record a first Test series win over Pakistan since 2001.

At the start of the day, Pakistan needed nine wickets, West Indies 280 runs. For a brief while on the fourth evening, Pakistan were slightly jittery in the face of West Indian resistance. It remained that way for a brief spell on the final morning, as Alzarri Joseph and Kraigg Brathwaite kept the bowlers at bay. Each struck a boundary to get the the score rolling, and with the ball losing its shine, West Indies appeared to be making progress.

But once Afridi bounced Joseph out, the innings changed colour. Hasan Ali hadn't enjoyed a particularly memorable series until Tuesday, but it took just one ball to make an impact towards levelling the series. Nkrumah Bonner played down the wrong line and was struck dead in front; Hasan didn't even bother to appeal as he set off to celebrate. The umpire made Pakistan review, but there was no redemption for Bonner.

Faheem Ashraf at the other end should have seen off Brathwaite, but while one Pakistan opener simply cannot drop a catch in the slips, Brathwaite's outside edge looped to the other one. Abid Ali put down a dolly, perhaps illustrating why Imran Butt had dived so spectacularly in front of him in the first Test. To rub the point home further, when Roston Chase offered up a chance the following over, Butt dived adroitly to his right as Pakistan had another wicket.

Brathwaite and Jermaine Blackwood have been West Indies' brightest batting sparks this tour, and for more than an hour, they kept Pakistan waiting for another breakthrough. It came from an unlikely source - their left-arm spinner Nauman Ali - who flighted the ball to draw the batter forward and induce an outside edge to the keeper.

Brathwaite appeared to be the focal point of resistance when the middle session began but a rare loose shot a few overs in allowed Pakistan to chisel their way into the lower order. A loose, uppish slash to point found Fawad Alam, and Pakistan were sniffing at the prospect of finishing the game off before tea.

But Kyle Mayers, who was yet to score a run this series before, found a bit of rhythm, and alongside Jason Holder, began to hunker down. The runs came from time to time, but they weren't a priority, and as Nauman's effectiveness wavered while the quicks tired, West Indies were raising local hopes of taking the game deep and infusing concern among the fielding side. Abid's butterfingers didn't help, the opener putting down his second catch of the day, this time a routine grab at short leg after an inside edge from Mayers.

It was down to Afridi - who else? - to give Pakistan a lift, coming with an exquisite off-stump delivery that shaped away from the left-handed Mayers. The batter went for an expansive drive, only to see it take a feather off the outside edge, triggering relieved Pakistani celebrations.

You wouldn't have blamed Pakistan for believing they were on the cusp of a series-levelling win, but the heavens chose that moment to open, and within moments, it had gone from bright sunshine to an absolute downpour. Holder jogged back off alongside the dismissed Mayers, while Babar followed in his wake, remonstrating with the umpires; after the drama around the wet outfield, thoughts must invariably have turned to a victory snatched from under his side's noses.

But it was only a cloudburst, to Pakistan's relief and an early tea later, back out they came. The darkening skies added dramatic flair to the occasion, and for a while Holder made hay while the sun didn't shine. He targeted both quick and slow bowlers alike, and rode his luck on occasion, no more so than when Afridi failed to gobble up a chance on the boundary.

Butt aside, Pakistan's lacklustre fielding was thematically consistent, and with no clear notion of when time might run out, there was always the danger it could cost them once more. But with Babar having turned to the spinners to rush through till the new ball became available, Holder's extravagance got the better of him.

He had pierced Nauman through the covers the previous delivery, but three runs shy of a half-century found Alam at cover the next ball. From that point on, Afridi took over with the new ball, summarily removing Kemar Roach and Joshua Da Silva to close the game.

Test cricket in these two nations might have been set back over the past few decades, but over yet another humdinger of a series, there was nothing to separate West Indies and Pakistan once more.