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Cricket
Challenging task ahead of West Indies
By Dicky Rutnagur
SHARJAH, FEB. 3. Pakistan threw down the gauntlet at West Indies' feet after acquiring an aggregate lead of 341 in the first Test on Sunday. A minimum of 100 overs was left in the match when Pakistan declared its second innings. West Indies, which had to bat under floodlights because of a heavy cloud cover, managed to keep its slate clean in facing ten overs before stumps.
With only 15 wickets falling on the first three days and the pitch steadily losing pace, a draw seemed the most likely outcome at the start of the penultimate day. But Waqar Younis put the clock in his side's favour with the quick demolition of the lower half of the West Indies batting order. He was not deterred by the pitch denying him pace. He used subtlety as his main weapon.
West Indies was hard put to contain Pakistan's dashing strokeplayers as it swelled its first innings lead of 127 by 214 from 57.4 overs. Its bowling was as tidy as it could be under fire, but its fielding was unreliable and Carl Hooper's captaincy, unimaginative.
Inzamam-ul-Haq, who steadied the innings when it was wobbling, twice played and missed at Pedro Collins early in his innings. Still, Hooper, who had put his side in defensive mode, did not place a slip fielder and when Collins twice found his edge in quick succession, wicket-keeper Ridley Jacobs found the chances too difficult to hold. First slip would have held both.
Had either of those chances been taken, Pakistan would have been compelled to bat with more restraint, if even for a while.
In the morning, Waqar Younis, in the manner of great fast bowlers, altered the balance of the match in a matter of minutes, taking four wickets in the space of six overs, - and that on a pitch that had become utterly lifeless. The devastation he wrought caused the five wickets West Indies had standing overnight to fall in a span of 14 runs.
However, the West Indians' unbeaten pair from the day before, Shivnarine Chanderpaul and debutant Ryan Hinds flourished for half an hour before the debacle began.
Chanderpaul who, having started the day on 45, made 66, took heavy toll of some short-pitched stuff from Waqar, square-cutting him for two fours, hooking him for a third and then, when he pitched one up to him, driving him through the covers.
At the other end, Saqlain Mushtaq was turning the ball, but with less of a nip and West Indies looked set to enhance its prosperity, compelling Waqar to set a defensive field. Simultaneously, however, he switched to bowling from round the wicket and the ploy instantly brought a breakthrough.
Left-handed Chanderpaul, who had batted without a flaw for almost four hours, during which he faced 157 balls, played rather lazily at a ball slanted in to him and played on from the inside edge. Basically, it was lack of footwork that was his undoing.
Continuing to bowl from round the wicket, Waqar, in his next over, had Ryan Hinds caught from a top-edged hook. When his next over, the sixth of his spell brought no further reward, he signalled to Abdur Razzak to warm up to bowl the next over from his end.
But he changed his mind when in the intervening over, Mervyn Dillon ran himself out through a dreadful mix up. Staying in harness, Waqar bowled Cameron Cuffy off his pads with a reverse-swinging ball of full length and then had Ridley Jacobs caught from a hook.
The scores:
Pakistan - 1st innings: 493.
West Indies - 1st innings: D. Ganga lbw b Saqlain 20, C. Gayle b Saqlain 68, S. Campbell lbw b Kaneria 6, W. Hinds st. Latif b Kaneria 59, C. Hooper lbw b Razzaq 56, S. Chanderpaul b Waqar 66, W. Hinds c Latif b Waqar 62, R. Jacobs c Kaneria b Waqar 6, M. Dillon (run out) 5, C. Cuffy b Waqar 0, P. Collins (not out) 1, Extras (b-1, lb-3, nb-12, w-1) 17, Total 366.
Fall of wickets: 1-88, 2-96, 3-126, 4- 180, 5-231, 6-352, 7-353, 8-362, 9-363.
Pakistan bowling: Waqar 25.3-4-93-4, Shoaib 18-4-68-0, Razzaq 18-2-49-1, Kaneria 26-5-75-2, Saqlain 36-12-71-2, Taufiq 2-0-6-0.
Pakistan 2nd innings: Taufeeq Omar run out 23, Naveed Latif c Jacobs b Dillon 20, Younis Khan c Jacobs b Cuffy 32, Inzamam-Ul Haq c Hooper b Dillon 48, Yousuf Youhana c Dillon b Cuffy 12, Abdur Razzaq c Ganga b Collins 29, Rashid Latif not out 47, extras (nb-3) 3, Total (for six wkts decl) 214.
Fall of wickets: 1-35, 2-54, 3-101, 4- 134, 5-146, 6-214.
West Indies bowling: Dillon 17-3-46-2, Cuffy 19-3-78-2, Collins 14.4-1-56-1, Hooper 5-0-23-0, W.Hinds 2- 0-11-0.
West Indies 2nd innings: D.Ganga (batting) 19, C.Gayle (batting) 5, Total (for no loss) 24.
Pakistan bowling: Waqar 4-1-11-0, Saqlain 5-3-5-0, Kaneria 1-0-8-0.
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