After eight straight defeats on the road in Test cricket, Pakistan finally snapped that dreadful losing run on Wednesday, securing a comfortable victory over the West Indies on the penultimate day of the second Test at Queen’s Park Oval.
Resuming the day at 103 for six, already on the brink of an innings collapse, the West Indies batting order could not withstand the pressure from Pakistan’s spin attack, and was eventually bowled out for 117 all out in 46.1 overs. Left-arm spinner Ali Usman led the final push to dismantle the home side’s tail, claiming two of the three remaining wickets to fall.
It took Usman just two overs to claim his first wicket of the day, with Kemar Roach playing a wild slog sweep that completely missed the ball, leaving him bowled for a duck without adding a single run to the West Indies’ overnight total. Next to fall was Justin Greaves, who was already carrying an injury through his innings. After battling for 32 balls to score just three runs, Greaves attempted a pull shot through the onside against fast bowler Mohammad Ali, only to inside-edge the delivery onto his middle stump, leaving the Windies at 115 for eight.
Aggressive all-rounder Shamar Joseph put on a brief show for the small but enthusiastic local crowd, hammering two consecutive boundaries from Usman through the onside. But his cameo did not last long: when he tried to repeat the shot in Usman’s next over, wicketkeeper Mohammad Rizwan completed the catch to end the West Indies innings. Brandon King was unable to bat for the tail, having suffered an injury while fielding on the previous day. Off-spinner Sajid Khan, who had done the bulk of the damage to the Windies batting line-up on Tuesday evening, finished with match figures of 4 for 32, while Usman ended with 4 wickets for 39 runs.
Chasing just 75 runs to seal victory and level the two-match series at 1-1, Pakistan encountered only minor resistance from the West Indies bowling attack, even losing two early wickets in the chase. Fast bowler Jayden Seales worked over Pakistan opener Imam-ul-Haq with a string of testing deliveries, eventually drawing an uncertain prod that edged to Greaves in the slip cordon, with Pakistan at 15 for one. Joseph then claimed a second opener, bowling Azan Awais for 18 when the batsman attempted a cut through the onside and inside-edged the ball onto his stumps, pushing the score to 42 for two.
However, Player of the Match Abdullah Shafique and captain Babar Azam combined for an unbroken third-wicket partnership of 35 runs, just as they had done earlier in the match, to steer Pakistan safely to victory without further loss. After surviving a tense close leg before wicket appeal, Azam finished the match in spectacular fashion, hitting left-arm spinner Jomel Warrican for back-to-back sixes over long-on and cover. Azam ended unbeaten on 24 runs from 30 deliveries, while Shafique finished with an unbeaten 24 from 51 balls.
In post-match honors, Justin Greaves was named Player of the Series for the second consecutive Test series, sharing the award with Pakistan captain Babar Azam.