Vital contributions with the bat from Jermaine Blackwood and Kemar Roach allowed West Indies to keep Pakistan at bay and come out triumphant in the first Test by just one wicket following a nervy chase in Jamaica on Sunday.
Chasing a target of 168 on a Sabina Park surface still offering a lot to the fast bowlers, West Indies first slipped to 16/3 and then found themselves 114/7. But on each of those occasions, they had a saviour. First, it was Blackwood with another game-transforming aggressive half-century (55) and then Roach battling it out for perhaps the most crucial knock that he has played (30*).
Blackwood put the pressure back on Pakistan in his naturally attacking style when the tourists would’ve hoped to see their pacemen run through the hosts’ batting line-up. Roach batted with great defiance and resilience till the very end to ensure a win for his side at the start of the new World Test Championship cycle.
Pakistan had left-arm quick Shaheen Afridi (4/50) delivering an opening burst of great skill and pace, which proved too good for the West Indies top-order, featuring Kraigg Brathwaite (2), Kieran Powell (4) and Nkrumah Bonner.
Hasan Ali struggled for control when Blackwood went after him, but once the resurrection stand between him and Roston Chase (22) was broken by all-rounder Faheem Ashraf (2/29), the skiddy paceman got into his element with a wicket of Kyle Mayers (0) and then dismissed his man just five runs after he had reached his fifty. Hasan also sent Jason Holder (16) back when he had just started to settle down.
But, even though Afridi, Hasan and Faheem bowled well, Pakistan ultimately felt the need for more runs on the board, having suffered a lower-order collapse earlier on Day 4 and adding just 43 runs to their overnight total of 160/5.
Pakistan skipper Babar Azam could only add one more run to his tally after posting a resolute half-century (55) and it required some blitz at the end from Hasan (28) to take the second-innings lead past 150. The tourists had been bundled out for 217 in the first half of the Test and could manage only 203 in the second.
Young gun Jayden Seales (5/55) and experienced quick Kemar Roach (3/30) were the heroes with the ball for West Indies in the second half. Seales had picked up three wickets for 70 on Day 1 as well, where Roach (2/47) and Holder (3/26) also chipped in.
Apart from their batting failure, Pakistan will rue that they made errors in the field in the final hours of the Test match, dropping Roach when he was on 16 after failing to review a caught behind appeal against Blackwood very early into his innings.
Brief scores
Pakistan 217 (Fawad Alam 56, Faheem Ashraf 44; Jason Holder 3/26, Jayden Seales 3/70) & 203 (Babar Azam 55, Mohammad Rizwan 30; Jayden Seales 5/55, Kemar Roach 3/30) lost to West Indies 253 (Kraigg Brathwaite 97, Jason Holder 58; Shaheen Afridi 4/59, Mohammad Abbas 3/43) & 168/9 (Jermaine Blackwood 55, Kemar Roach 30; Shaheen Afridi 4/50, Hasan Ali 3/37) by one wicket
