DUBAI // An explosive four-over burst by Wahab Riaz, and another telling contribution from Azhar Ali opened the door for Pakistan to push for victory in the first Test at the Dubai International Stadium.
Wahab cameos have become a feature of Pakistan’s rise in this format, and in this stadium in particular, in recent times. Last winter, his brief intervention on the third morning of the first Test against England basically bent that series the way of Pakistan.
This time it was the last session of the third day when the left-arm fast bowler had his moment. On a pitch that has given the appearance of being flatter than the Emirates Road, he managed to find just enough life to break through West Indies’ doughty rearguard.
He bounced out Jermain Blackwood and Roston Chase, and rearranged Shane Dowrich’s helmet, in a spell of two for eight from four overs.
Whether it was a match defining spell remains to be seen, but the prospects of the hosts forcing a win without it would have been slim.
After three weeks in which it has felt as though they would prefer to be anywhere but on a cricket pitch in the Middle East, the West Indies had finally enjoyed a semblance of cheer on Day 3.
Anyone who had witnessed what had gone before might have feared any sort of resilience was beyond the Caribbean side.
They arrived in Dubai in the middle of September without a head coach, the captain of their world champion 20-over side recently sacked, a raft of leading players absent, and morale shot.
It managed to get worse, still, as they were swept aside in three Twenty20s, and three 50-over games. And it is fair to say the manner of performance in the limited-overs matches was even more dire than the results in the back-to-back whitewashes.
By the time they pulled on whites for Asia’s first day-night Test, West Indies seemed to be here in body, but their spirit was long since eroded.
Not so, apparently. Darren Bravo proved there is still some fight, as well as aptitude, left in the tank. The left-hander was so wedded to the salvage effort that he batted for for 258 balls, only to be dislodged for 87 just 22 minutes short of the close.
He was caught at short leg by Azhar. Apparently, scoring a triple hundred still does not earn you the right to escape boot hill.
Azhar’s catch gave Mohammed Nawaz a first wicket on Test debut. It was just the ninth wicket to fall in the first three days of cricket, but it gave the Pakistanis the belief that victory could yet be within their compass.
The National verdict
If the point of this match was see how a pink ball fared under lights in a Test in Asia, then so far so good. It is perfectly visible, probably better even than a red ball during the day time. It has been replaced a couple of times due to going out of shape, but c’est la vie.
If the point was to get crowds back interested in this format, then the problem endures. The cricket on show in the first two days here has been tepid. Just nine wickets have fallen.
No wonder only 46 spectators made the effort to get to the ground in time to see the first ball of Day 3.
pradley@thenational.ae
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