Spin runs riot again as Noman, Warrican lead the way on 20-wicket opening day

Head coach Aaqib Javed promised that Pakistan could prepare a spin-friendly wicket anywhere in the country, and the first day of the second Test against West Indies in Multan demonstrated he had kept his promise. Spin ran riot once more, as 20 wickets fell and both sides wrapped up within nine runs of each other. A hat-trick from Noman Ali, the first by a Pakistani spinner in Tests, saw Pakistan tear through the visitors in the morning session.

West Indies were reduced to 54 for 8 at one stage, before a remarkable recovery from the last three batters dragged them to the relative safety of 163. It became clear that two of them could play the spin game when West Indies got the ball in hand. Kemar Roach ripped through Pakistan’s top order, while Jomel Warrican and Gudakesh Motie split seven wickets between them. Only Mohammad Rizwan and Saud Shakeel offered resistance as Pakistan folded for 154.
West Indies got their wish in the morning when they won the toss, allowing them to bat first. But they took little time running into trouble when Mikyle Louis poked behind to Rizwan, and got Pakistan up and running in the second over. Debutant Amir Jangoo was struck plumb in front by Sajid Khan five balls later, and Pakistan were on their way.

Kraigg Brathwaite and Kavem Hodge put together a brief partnership that saw off fast bowler Kashif Ali, and initially held off the spinners. But once that stand was punctured, bloodletting followed. West Indies lost five wickets in the next 13 balls that reduced them from 32 for 2 to 38 for 7.
Three balls at the start of the 12th over from Noman got him his hat-trick with a mixture of deliveries. Justin Greaves’ edge came as a result of a touch of extra bounce, while Tevin Imlach missed a sweep to a straight one. With just about everyone crowding around the bat for the hat-trick ball, Noman pushed it in at pace and found a bit of turn off the pitch. It was much too good for Kevin Sinclair’s tentative prod, and Noman had his hat-trick.

However, what transpired in the final hour before lunch showed that while the wicket was highly conducive to spin, it wasn’t necessarily unplayable. West Indies’ bottom three had made history last Test when they became the three highest scorers in an innings for the first time ever, and they repeated the feat in this game. Motie, Roach and Warrican produced a canny mix of resolute temperament and entertaining flair to somewhat steer West Indies out of troubled waters.
Roach and Motie put on 41 for the ninth wicket before a missed sweep from the former gave Noman his fifth wicket. But Motie and Warrican linked up for another substantial contribution. It was a mix of good-cop, bad-cop as Motie shut the spinners out while Warrican gave them whacks from the other end. Lunch was extended as the final stand went on, and against all odds, went past 137 to get West Indies to their highest score of the series.
A whack down the ground from Warrican brought up the 50-partnership before Motie brought up his own half-century. It was only at the stroke of lunch that Motie missed a slog sweep off Noman that rattled his off stump, and a session that began with total Pakistan dominance ended on a rather more neutral tenor.
West Indies had, in Roach, a fast bowler they trusted even on this surface, and in the first hour, he showed why. Getting the new ball to nip both ways in the air and off the seam, he drew Mohammad Hurraira forward before rapping him on the front pad with one that seamed in, to draw first blood. It was the first of three wickets inside 14 balls.
Babar Azam was beaten by the lack of bounce from Motie as he tried to slice off the back foot and missed a cut that saw the ball crash into off stump. The stumps were disturbed once more when Shan Masood played all around another Roach delivery that came back into him, and 163 suddenly seemed a long way off.
Shakeel and Kamran Ghulam dug in, playing survival cricket in a passage of play that spelled danger for Pakistan. They drew the sting out of the game over the next half an hour, halting West Indies’ momentum and taking the pressure off themselves as the partnership inched up and got Pakistan to 50.
After Ghulam’s forward defensive shot to Motie hit him high on the bat and Alick Athanaze took a sharp catch, Shakeel and Rizwan took over. They looked more assured than any batter from either side all day: Shakeel absorbed pressure while Rizwan transferred it back on to the opposition. Providing the clearest template of how to bat in trying circumstances, Rizwan’s use of the feet, manipulation of the fields, and the sweep shot got the runs ticking along, bearing down on West Indies’ first-innings score.
But a bit of brilliance in the field, and then with the ball, saw West Indies wrest control back. When Shakeel looked to jab Warrican through midwicket, his mistimed shot interested Roach at long-on. The veteran seamer dived forward at full extension to take a catch that injured him in the process. The wind in his sails, Warrican removed Rizwan soon after with a beauty, as one spun prodigiously to leave Rizwan high and dry halfway down the crease, giving Imlach all the time in the world to whip the bails off.
West Indies had none of Pakistan’s problems when it came to running through the lower order. Pakistan went on to lose their last six wickets for 35 runs, the 20th of the day coming courtesy of a mix-up between Sajid and Kashif that resulted in a run-out. It was a gift to the bowlers on a day they had no need for such generosity. (ESPNCricinfo)