Tea West Indies 165 for 4 (Hope 29*, Greaves 27*) vs Pakistan

Pakistan edged an attritional passage of play that set the stage for a spin-dominant Test match. In an extended middle session, Ali Usman and Sajid Khan bowled 25 overs and took two of the three West Indies wickets to fall. Shai Hope and Justin Greaves counterattacked through the last 45 minutes to limit the damage, pushing the score up to 165 in what feels like another game where every run will be contested over.

The shock omission of Mohammad Abbas was the main talking point of the Test early on, its effect amplified by the brisk start West Indies made. They raced along to 49 in 9.5 overs before rain forced an early lunch. Mercifully for Pakistan, Tagenarine Chanderpaul had hooked Mohammad Ali to fine leg off the last ball before the weather interruption to give Pakistan something to cling to ahead of the resumption.

Once the players took the field again, it was immediately clear this would be a different kind of session. Soon, Usman and Sajid were operating in tandem on a pitch that gripped and turned, and it wasn’t long before it claimed its first victim. A canny review from Pakistan for a ball that landed on leg and ragged past Brandon King’s outside edge showed three reds, giving Usman his first Test wicket.

With one left-hander and one right-hander at the crease, Usman and Sajid operated relentlessly and stifled West Indies. Kavem Hodge went deep into his shell, and occasionally attempted to break the shackles with a release sweep. However, one of them off Sajid kissed his glove and ricocheted off his forearm towards Mohammad Rizwan, who took a sharp catch. It needed another review from Pakistan, but they broke through once more.

Hope and Amir Jangoo began to realise they would have to balance run-scoring and caution. A glorious six over cover from Hope set the tone as West Indies tried to shift momentum, and the next few overs saw boundaries begin to flow relatively regularly. It forced Babar Azam to turn back to pace, returning to the expensive Ubaid Shah.

It was here that West Indies, who had been generally good at absorbing pressure and fighting through phases where Pakistan’s bowlers ruled the roost briefly, let themselves down. Ubaid sent his first one down leg, and Jangoo casually flicked at it, his inside edge kissing the ball on its way through to the keeper, handing the debutant his first wicket.

It did not put West Indies off their newfound positivity, though. Ubaid was dispatched for a few boundaries and taken off after three overs, and a return spell from Ali was both ineffective and uneconomical, conceding 17 in three overs. Greaves was excellent at putting overpitched deliveries away through the covers, while Hope began to grow in confidence in a fifth-wicket stand that had crept up to 45 by the time tea was called.