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Pakistan Tour of the West Indies… Masood, Imam and Ali make it Pakistan’s day
(Cricinfo) – Shan Masood rode his luck, and then showed his grit in an unbeaten innings that has left him 12 runs shy of three figures overnight, and put his side slightly ahead at the close of play on the second day. After Mohammad Ali’s four-wicket haul bowled West Indies out for 311, half-centuries from Masood and Imam-ul-Haq, who combined to put on a 155-run partnership, cut West Indies lead in half. The hosts hit back with the wickets of Imam and Babar Azam late in the day, but Pakistan still have seven wickets in hand trailing West Indies by 112 runs.
When Masood walked out to the crease, he came within a whisker of chopping his first delivery on, and it set the tone for the rub of the green that continued to fall his way. Jomel Warrican put down a sharp chance two balls later, and another burst through the slips early in his innings. But Masood stuck to his game plan, continuing to pick up regular boundaries, whether or not he was in control of the shots they came off. By the time he reached his half-century – at better than a run a ball, his control percentage stood at 71%, with half of his ten boundaries coming of either inside or outside edge.
Azan Awais was out for duck (AFP/Getty Images)
Importantly, however, West Indies couldn’t find a way to get rid of him, and it was a steelier Masood who emerged post-tea. Most of the flamboyance had been cut out, with the former Pakistan captain realising its purpose had been served, and Pakistan needed to consolidate now. He let Imam, who had played a supporting role until then, take on more of the run-scoring responsibility. With the ball doing less than it was earlier, the pair were coasting to a 150-run stand, making a respectable West Indies attack look toothless.
It was in the final hour that the hosts hit back. Having brought up his half-century, Imam lashed at one from Shamar Joseph well outside off stump to first slip. It left Babar and Masood to try and negotiate a tricky period before stumps. Masood’s rub of the green continued as he survived an lbw shout by a hair’s breadth, but Babar tentatively pushed at Jayden Seales shortly after, nicking off to the keeper, giving West Indies encouragement to take into the third day.
In the morning, Pakistan had got the old ball to talk and kept knocking West Indies’ batters over regularly, getting four wickets before lunch. They had spent a turgid final session on Saturday wicketless, but West Indies had managed no boundaries either, and thus were by no means out of sight. Khurram Shahzad drew the top-scorer Kavem Hodge into prodding at a wide one that Salman Agha grasped comfortably inside the first three overs of the day which set Pakistan on their way.
It followed an hour of plays and misses as the old ball nipped and swung sharply. Pakistan’s seam bowlers have been criticised for lacking pace, but they made up for it with wobble, continually discomfiting the batters. Azan Awais put down a golden opportunity to get rid of Hope when he nicked Mohammad Ali off to the slips, but Ali’s persistence eventually paid off as that probing off stump line found Justin Greaves’ outside edge, with Agha ensuring he made no mistake once more.
Curiously, the new ball appeared to dilute the threat the seam bowlers posed, but by no means extinguished it. While Hope looked largely comfortable for the rest of the session, he was very much on his own in that aspect. Mohammad Abbas’ characteristic accuracy found a feather off Roston Chase’s outside edge, while Khurram Shahzad came back to extinguish Kemar Roach’s stubborn resistance to reduce West Indies to seven down.
A cameo from Shamar Joseph briefly frustrated Pakistan, but Ali, who had been unlucky earlier in the day when Awais put Shai Hope down, got his just rewards following lunch. It took Ali just two balls to bounce Joseph out and then nipped one in sharply to Hope to trap him dead in front. In two more balls, the innings had wrapped up, which was especially valuable for a Pakistan side that have been guilty of struggling to rip through the tail efficiently of late. Things, as Masood’s knock would later illustrate, had perhaps begun to turn Pakistan’s way in Tarouba.
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