… tourists march to overall lead of 251 at end of third day
BASSETERRE, St. Kitts, (CMC) – Their own indifferent slip catching, and gritty batting from Taufeeq Umar further eroded West Indies’ chances in the second Test against Pakistan yesterday. West Indies did their chances no favours, when they muffed no less than three chances, as the Pakistanis marched to 202 for three in the second innings for an overall lead of 251 at the close on the third day.

Taufeeq was one of the main beneficiaries of the West Indies’ slipshod fielding, being dropped twice in the embryonic stages of his innings, to lead the way for the visitors with a dogged, unbeaten 97.

The left-hander has struck 10 boundaries from 231 balls in close to four hours, sharing significant stands with fellow opener Mohammad Hafeez and Azhar Ali to put Pakistan in charge.

This followed a bright start to the day for West Indies, after they were dismissed for 223 before lunch, limiting Pakistan to a lead of 49.

Rampaul was left  32 not out and Kemar Roach made a career-best 29.

Mohammad Hafeez finished with a career-best three wickets for 23 runs from eight overs, fellow off-spinner Ajmal captured three for 56 off 28.5 overs, and left-arm spinner Abdur Rehman ended with two for 55 from 29 overs.

West Indies then had several chances before lunch to bring themselves back into the game, and paid a handsome price for failing to take them.

Kemar Roach had himself to blame, when Hafeez, on nought, was caught behind off a no-ball in the first over of the innings, before Darren Bravo dropped a straightforward chance from Taufeeq, on one, in the West Indies fast bowler’s second over.

Before leaving the field with a sore back following his third over, Sammy was also guilty of two dropped catches.

He put down Taufeeq, on 13, off Roach at second slip, where he also spilled a low, difficult chance from Hafeez, on 14, off Rampaul.

The crestfallen West Indies bowlers were then put on the back-foot, with Taufeeq, in particular, and Hafeez indulging themselves with an array of strokes that yielded 11 boundaries to carry Pakistan to 55 without loss at lunch.

After the interval, West Indies tightened-up, and Sammy returned to the field to make the breakthrough, but Pakistan still had the edge, reached 131 for one at tea.

Steady bowling from West Indies built up the pressure on the two openers, and Hafeez was the first to crack, being bowled off the inside-edge with a well-pitched off-cutter for 32, following an opening stand of 82 with Taufeeq.

West Indies failed to make further inroads into the Pakistan batting, and Taufeeq reached his 50 from 82 balls, with a single to mid-on off leg-spinner Devendra Bishoo.

There was a chance for West Indies to remove Taufeeq, on 56, when he was undone by a well-flighted, sharply turning leg-break from Bishoo, but wicketkeeper Carlton Baugh Jr had difficulty collecting the ball, which ricocheted awkwardly from the batsman’s pad.

After tea, West Indies continued the hard toil, as Azhar Ali joined Taufeeq and consolidated Pakistan’s position with a stand of 76 for the second wicket.

Brendan Nash was peddling his uncomplicated left-arm spin, when Azhar reached his 50 from 84 balls, with a single to long-on off, but Bishoo had him caught at slip for well-crafted 53 that contained half-dozen boundaries from 90 balls, occupying nearly three hours.

Roach had been working up a sweat at the other end, getting the ball to reverse swing, and he had Asad Shafiq caught behind for four a few overs later, nibbling at a delivery outside the off-stump, leaving Pakistan 167 for three.

For the final hour, West Indies failed to get through a defiant Taufeeq and the typically resolute Misbah-ul-Haq, the pair sharing 35 – unbroken – for the fourth wicket.

Earlier, West Indies, starting the day on 184 for eight, stretched their innings a further 1 ¼ hours thanks to Rampaul and Roach.

The two West Indies fast bowlers added 60 for the ninth wicket before Hafeez made the breakthrough, trapping Roach lbw playing back and across, and Saeed Ajmal brought the innings to a close, when Bishoo was caught at slip for one.

West Indies, eyeing a rare Test series victory, lead the two-Test rubber 1-0, following a 40-run visitors inside four days in the first Test, which ended last Sunday at the Guyana National Stadium.

PAKISTAN 1st Innings 272
(Azhar Ali 67; R. Rampaul 3-68)
WEST INDIES 1st Innings
(overnight 184 for eight)
L. Simmons c Taufeeq Umar b Tanvir Ahmed 0
K. Brathwaite c Taufeeq Umar b Wahab Riaz 15
D.M. Bravo c Asad Shafiq b Mohammad Hafeez 24
R. Sarwan st Mohammad Salman b Saeed Ajmal 20
M. Samuels c Taufeeq Umar b Saeed Ajmal 57
B. Nash c Misbah-ul-Haq b Mohammad Hafeez 6
+C. Baugh lbw b Abdur Rehman 6
*D. Sammy c Umar Akmal b Abdur Rehman 16
K. Roach lbw b Mohammad Hafeez 29
R. Rampaul not out 32
D. Bishoo c Taufeeq Umar b Saeed Ajmal 1
Extras (b4, lb4, nb9) 17
TOTAL (all out, 83.5 overs) 223
Fall of wickets: 1-0 (Simmons), 2-22 (Brathwaite), 3-54 (Sarwan), 4-94 (Bravo), 5-100 (Nash), 6-107 (+Baugh), 7-144 (*Sammy), 8-158 (Samuels), 9-218 (Roach)
Bowling: Tanvir Ahmed 7-1-22-1 (nb1); Wahab Riaz 11-1-59-1 (nb8); Abdur Rehman 29-10-55-2; Saeed Ajmal 28.5-10-56-3; Mohammad Hafeez 8-0-23-3

PAKISTAN 2nd Innings
Mohammad Hafeez b *Sammy 32
Taufeeq Umar not out 97
Azhar Ali c Sammby b Bishoo 53
Asad Shafiq c wkpr Baugh b Roach 4
*Misbah-ul-Haq not out 13
Extras (w1, nb2) 3
TOTAL (3 wkts, 75 overs) 202
Fall of wickets: 1-82 (Mohammad Hafeez), 2-158 (Azhar Ali), 3-167 (Asad Shafiq)
Bowling: Roach 15-6-42-1 (nb1); Rampaul 15-4-43-0 (nb1); *Sammy 13-3-29-1 (w1); Bishoo 26-5-69-1; Nash 6-0-19-0
Position: Pakistan lead by 251 runs with seven second innings wickets standing