On a memorable Tuesday at Trinidad’s Brian Lara Cricket Academy, young fast bowler Jayden Seales delivered a career-defining performance, claiming his fourth Test five-wicket haul to lock in a historic 90-run victory for the West Indies over Pakistan in the opening match of their series. What unfolded across four days of fluctuating momentum ended with a dominant finish from the home side, capping off a contest that kept cricket fans on the edge of their seats from the first over to the last.
The day of decision opened with West Indies in a precarious position, resuming at 126 for seven in their second innings having built a narrow overnight advantage. Tail-end batters Kemar Roach and Shamar Joseph extended their stubborn partnership to 61 runs, adding 28 crucial runs to push the home side closer to a competitive lead. After Mohammad Ali removed Joseph for 38, late contributions from Roach, Jomel Warrican and Seales himself pushed West Indies’ overall lead past the 200-run mark, setting Pakistan a 211-run victory target with a day and a half of play remaining. Pakistan’s pace spearhead Mohammad Abbas then claimed the final two wickets of Roach and Warrican to pick up his seventh five-wicket haul in Tests, finishing with figures of 5-22 from 15.5 overs, leaving the visitors with a realistic chance of chasing down the required total to take an early series lead.
But Pakistan’s chase got off to a disastrous start almost as soon as it began. In just the third over, with five runs already on the board, the consistently reliable Roach sent down a searing delivery that brushed Imam-ul-Haq’s glove on the way through to the wicketkeeper, handing West Indies the first breakthrough. Azan Awais followed back to the pavilion shortly after, chasing a wide half-volley from Seales and edging a simple catch to the keeper, leaving Pakistan at 21 for two. Seales struck again in his very next over, trapping Salman Agha lbw for a duck to plunge the visitors into crisis at 25 for three, with Pakistan limping into the lunch break at 28 for three still needing 183 runs to win.
After the interval, Pakistan’s captain Babar Azam and wicketkeeper-batter Mohammad Rizwan showed brief glimpses of fight, with Rizwan hitting two consecutive boundaries off Seales and Azam finding the midwicket rope off Joseph. But the momentum shifted back to West Indies almost instantly when medium pacer Justin Greaves, the hero of the first innings with the ball, produced two quick strikes. He bowled Rizwan for 11 in his first over of the spell, then trapped Aamer Jamal lbw for a duck just one over later, dropping Pakistan to 50 for five. The situation worsened three runs later when Ali Usman chased a full delivery from Roach and edged a catch to Greaves at second slip, reducing the visitors to 7/6 wickets down.
Shan Masood, who hit a century in Pakistan’s first innings but batted down the order due to a finger injury, managed only three runs before driving loosely at Seales straight into the hands of Joseph at backward point, all but ending any remote hope of a Pakistan recovery. By the time Seales knocked over Khurram Shahzad’s middle stump and Joseph caught Mohammad Ali at second slip, Pakistan had slumped to 71 for nine, with the match seemingly destined to end before the tea break.
But a stubborn late partnership between Abbas and Azan frustrated West Indies, with Abbas hitting four entertaining boundaries and Azam bringing up his 32nd Test half-century, carrying Pakistan to 114 for nine at the tea break. Their 49-run stand for the final wicket prolonged the contest, but it could not prevent the inevitable. Shortly after tea, Seales fittingly finished the match by trapping Abbas lbw for 23 off 33 balls, wrapping up Pakistan’s innings at 120 all out in 40.2 overs. Seales finished with stunning match-winning figures of 5-20 from 14.2 testing overs, securing the 90-run win and extending Pakistan’s miserable away form to eight consecutive Test defeats on the road.
Greaves, who claimed seven wickets across the two Pakistan innings, was named Player-of-the-Match for his all-contributions with the ball, finishing with 2-12 in the second innings. Roach also chipped in with two key wickets to end with 2-27 for the match, rounding out a dominant collective bowling performance from the West Indies side.