PAKISTAN made early inroads into the West Indies tail on the third morning of the third and final test match at National Stadium Karachi.
Resuming on the overnight score of 191 for the loss of six wickets, West Indies lost their opener Darren Ganga with the addition of only 13 runs. Ganga was caught by Kamran Akmal off Razzak for a steady and impressive 81, his second 80-plus score of the series. With Kaneria operating from one end , Inzamam brought back Umer Gul inplace of Razzak and the change nearly paid off as Powell edged only for Akmal to floor the chance on Gul’s first delivery. The new ball was then taken and Powell inside-edged Gul on to his leg stump to give Gul his fourth wicket of the innings.
Shahid Nazir was handed the new ball with Gul and got his first wicket of the match straight after the drinks interval as Kamran Akmal held a wonderful catch to dismiss Taylor for one.
West Indies had reached 218 for nine, still trailing Pakistan by 86 runs, after the first hour of the morning’s play with Ramdin not out on 16 and Taylor having scored one.
The second day finished with West Indies 113 runs behind Pakistan’s first innings total of 304. Umer Gul rounded off a brilliant all round display by taking three wickets, including a second-ball dismissal of Brian Lara, to go with his impressive 26 earlier on in the day.
After dismissing Pakistan for 304, West Indies openers started aggressively not allowing the variable bounce or the slow pitch to hamper their progress. Pakistan’s fielding did not help matters with Imran Farhat dropping Gayle on 12 at extra cover. Going into lunch at 42 in 10 overs without losing a wicket, West Indies were hoping to capitalise on the steady start.
They looked all set until Gul returned for him second spell from the Pavilion End. A short ball tempted Gayle into a pull but only managed a loop at mid-on where Razzak held a well-judged catch albeit on second attempt. Things got worse for the visitors when Gul uprooted Brian Lara’s off-stump with a beautiful outswinger. With the West Indies captained dismissed for a duck, Pakistan were back into the game.
New man in Sarwan, recalled after being left out in the Multan test, did not trouble the scorers either as he was yorked by Gul in his next over. Captain and vice-captain sent back without scoring and Pakistan was truly on top now. West Indies had just lost three wickets without adding to their total.
If West Indies were looking for consolidation without slowing the run-rate down, Chanderpaul implemented the plan to perfection. As the partnership grew past 50, Inzamam’s field placements came under scrutiny yet again. Having Kaneria and Mohammad Yousuf, not the most agile of fielders, at point and extra cover respectively, quick singles were taken at ease. Mohammad Hafeez, one of Pakistan’s sharpest fielders, was dispatched to the third-man boundary as Chanderpaul and Ganga added 63 off only 90 balls.
Kaneria, who was introduced as early as the ninth over of the innings, got his first wicket when Chanderpaul, who was all set for a big total, middled one on the off-stump straight into the palms of Imran Farhat at short-leg. A great catch under the circumstances, Chanderpaul, scoring 36 off 49 deliveries, was unlucky to have hit that one straight at the fielder.
A flurry of leg-before decisions were turned down in the post-tea session as Ganga tried to rebuild the innings with the new-man Runako Morton. As Ganga seemed indisposable, Inzamam brought back Gul, who had every single delivery cheered on by the crowd, yet again. After scoring a patient 21, Morton was dismissed by Kaneria, caught by Farhat at short-leg yet again. The ball seemed to hit Farhat on the helmet before being caught and while Morton walked back to the pavilion, he was signaled by the dressing room to await the third umpire’s decision. With replays proving inconclusive, and the delay now over five minutes, field umpires stuck to their decision and Kaneria had his second wicket of the innings.
A boundary-draught lasting 15 overs was witnessed following Morton’s dismissal as Ganga and Bravo went on the defensive on a deteriorating pitch. With the ball not bouncing enough, Kamran Akmal even decided to stand up to Shahid Nazir for a few deliveries, a move inviting more criticism of his already under-fire glovework of late. An edge off Bravo’s bat went streaking past between Akmal and first slip with neither going for the catch. With the ball almost dying before reaching the slip fielder, it was perhaps Akmal who should have gone for that.
Kamran Akmal, however, had something to cheer about when he caught Bravo off a Kaneria googly for a patient eight off 52 deliveries. With bad light ending play prematurely, West Indies were saved from what could have been further damage as they finished the day on 191 for the loss of six wickets.
© Faras Ghani 2006
Published in The Star 29th Nov 2006
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