DEPENDABLE middle- order batsman Shivnarine Chanderpaul upped his Test average to 49.06 as the West Indies defeated Pakistan by 40 runs to take the first Digicel Test match at the Guyana National Stadium, Providence yesterday.

The 36 year old left handed batsman who was controversially dropped from the team for the five limited overs matches, which the visitors won 3-2, had scores of 27 and 36 not out (an aggregate of 63 runs), in the West Indies overall scores of 226 and 152 respectively.

Chanderpaul took his overall aggregate to 9,126 from 130 Test matches with a highest score of 203 not out made against south Africa back in 2005, an innings that saw him emulated New Zealand’s Graham Dowling to become only the second player to make a double century on debut as a Test captain.

Only the in-form Trinidad and Tobago opener Lendl Simmons who had an aggregate of 70 runs (49 and 21) accumulated more runs than Chanderpaul in a match which saw Pakistan’s skipper Misbah-Ul-Haq being the lone batsman to surpass the 50 run mark in an individual innings.

But what was of importance to the home team’s victory would have been the rearguard action taken by the veteran left-hander and debutant Devendra Bishoo who had scores of 14 not out and 24 that saw the West Indies lead past the 200 run mark, a feat that seemed remotely impossible when they were 73 for 6.

Such a partnership which realized 48 runs from 21.5 overs was a record one at the venue following Bishoo and Kemar Roach’s first innings 10th wicket partnership that added 28 runs from 20.4 overs.

That also meant that Bishoo was involved in two record breaking innings at one of the fastest drying cricket venues in the Caribbean in a match that had a record breaking 20 lbw decisions, with Pakistan suffering 11 and the Windies 9.