Skipper Jason Holder took a maiden five-wicket haul and opener Kraigg Brathwaite stood firm in a tense chase to bring West Indies in sight of a consolation win in the third and final Test against Pakistan
Jason Holder (right) celebrates his fifer along with teammate Devendra Bishoo in the Sharjah Test vs Pakistan yesterday. Pic/AFP
Jason Holder (right) celebrates his fifer along with teammate Devendra Bishoo in the Sharjah Test vs Pakistan yesterday. Pic/AFP
Sharjah: Skipper Jason Holder took a maiden five-wicket haul and opener Kraigg Brathwaite stood firm in a tense chase to bring West Indies in sight of a consolation win in the third and final Test against Pakistan in Sharjah yesterday.
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Holder set his team — without a win in their last 13 Tests — on the right path with a career-best 5-30 to dismantle Pakistan for 208, which gave the West Indies a target of 153 in 135 overs spread over four sessions.
When bad light forced closure nine overs early on the fourth and penultimate day, Brathwaite was unbeaten on 44 to anchor West Indies to 114-5, still needing 39 runs with five wickets intact. Brathwaite, who carried his bat in the first innings with 142, has so far added 47 runs for the sixth wicket with Shane Dowrich (36 not out) to lift West Indies from a struggling 67-5.
Brathwaite, who survived a bat-pad catch review on 43, has hit four boundaries in another resolute 88-ball knock, frustrating Pakistan's bowling for a second time in the match. Dowrich has hit a six and three boundaries for the West Indies. Pakistan coach Mickey Arthur said “it could still go either way”. He added: “We are two wickets away from being favourites and this can happen in two balls. We should have scored big in the first innings and a below par score of 281 left us play chasing games.”
From 23 without loss, West Indies slumped to 67-5 with leg-spinner Yasir Shah (3-30) dismissing Leon Johnson leg-before for 12, Darren Bravo caught behind for three and Marlon Samuels caught in the deep for 10.
Earlier, Pakistan's chances of building a good lead ended when they slumped from 159-5 at lunch to lose their last five wickets for just 49 runs. Opener Azhar Ali fell nine short of his 12th century when he edged Bishoo in the slip after initially deciding to sweep the ball but later changing his mind. He batted for 234 balls and hit six fours and a six, adding 86 for the fifth wicket with Sarfraz Ahmed, who made 42.
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