Abbas bags four as West Indies make 312

Pakistan’s opening pair were laying the foundations of a solid reply at 36 without loss at lunch after their bowlers had dismissed the West Indies for 312 in the first innings on the second day of the second Test at Kensington Oval in Barbados on Monday.

Mohammad Abbas led the visiting bowlers’ effort with two more wickets to finish with four for 56, the best figures by a Pakistan fast bowler in Test innings at the venue, bettering Wasim Akram’s four for 73 in 1988, as the home team lost their last four wickets for the addition of 26 more runs.

West Indies’ hopes of pushing towards a total closer to the 400-run mark were dashed within the first nine deliveries of the morning as their first-day heroes, Roston Chase and Jason Holder, were dismissed without any addition to the overnight total of 286 for six.

Holder was the first to go, his late decision to pull away from an Abbas delivery resulting in an inside-edge to wicketkeeper Sarfraz Ahmed. Mohammad Amir then removed Chase, whose 131 was the first Test century by a Barbadian on home soil for 18 years. Drawn forward by a full-length delivery, his indeterminate prod resulted in a thick outside edge for Younis Khan to snare his third catch of the innings at second slip.

Devendra Bishoo played in his usual pugnacious manner but Abbas’ insistence to captain Misbah ul Haq for another over reaped immediate rewards when Bishoo lifted an on-drive to Yasir Shah at mid-on. Shah then wrapped up the innings when Alzarri Joseph was bowled missing a heave at a full-toss in the leg-spinner’s first over of the morning.

Pakistan were fortunate to reach the interval with the openers still together as Vishaul Singh failed to hold on to a low catch at wide mid-on offered by Ahmed Shehzad off Shannon Gabriel.

None of the other bowlers appeared particularly threatening in the brief passage of play before the break although Chase was able to extract considerable turn and bounce delivering his off-spinners into the considerable rough that has already appeared on an otherwise rock-hard pitch.