Gudakesh Motie and Jomel Warrican’s outstanding all-round contributions earned the West Indies a narrow nine-run first-innings lead against Pakistan, as 20 wickets tumbled on the opening day of the second test on Saturday, reports AP.
Motie’s crucial 55, his first test half-century, rescued the visitors from a dire 54-8 to a total of 163. The left-arm spinner then claimed 3-49 to dismiss the hosts for 154 on another challenging spinning track at Multan Cricket Stadium.
Pakistan head coach Aaqib Javed backs spin pitches for home test matches
Motie’s stellar performance overshadowed Noman Ali’s hat trick and his impressive figures of 6-41, as Pakistan’s batters faltered on their own spin-friendly surface. Warrican, who earlier scored an unbeaten 36 at No. 11, also made an impact with the ball, taking 4-43.
Mohammad Rizwan (49) and Saud Shakeel (32) briefly revived Pakistan with a 68-run stand for the fifth wicket. However, both fell to Warrican while attempting risky shots in the final session, and the tail collapsed quickly before stumps.
Bangladesh miss out direct qualification for Women's ODI World Cup' 2025 losing to West Indies
Motie had earlier dismissed Babar Azam (1), bowled while attempting a back-foot cut, and Kamran Ghulam (16), leaving Pakistan struggling at 51-4. Kemar Roach made early inroads with the new ball, trapping Muhammad Hurraira lbw and clean-bowling captain Shan Masood.
Earlier in the day, No. 9 Motie added 109 runs with the last two batters before the West Indies were dismissed in an extended three-hour first session. This followed Noman Ali’s demolition of the top order with his left-arm spin.
Ali, who had been pivotal in Pakistan’s 127-run victory in the first test alongside Sajid Khan, achieved a hat trick by dismissing Justin Greaves, Tevin Imlach, and Kevin Sinclair in the 12th over, becoming the first Pakistani spinner to claim a hat trick in test cricket.
The West Indies’ top-order batters once again struggled against spin on a crumbling pitch, as they had in the first test, where they were bowled out for 137 and 123, losing within three days.
Motie, playing his 11th test, fought back with resilience. He shared a 41-run partnership with Roach (25) and followed it up with a 68-run stand alongside Warrican.
BPL 2025 T20 Cricket Tournament: Top Performers Leading the Charge So Far
Debutant pacer Kashif Ali removed Mikyle Louis, finding the outside edge after Kraigg Brathwaite elected to bat first. Off-spinner Sajid Khan trapped Amir Jangoo lbw for a four-ball duck, while Ali dismissed Brathwaite in similar fashion.
Noman Ali’s hat trick was a memorable triple-wicket maiden over. Greaves was caught close to the wicket by Babar Azam, Imlach failed to review an lbw decision off a full-pitched delivery, and Sinclair edged to the gully, where Babar completed a stunning low catch.
Four Pakistan pacers — Wasim Akram, Abdul Razzaq, Mohammad Sami, and Naseem Shah — have previously achieved test hat tricks, with Akram doing so twice against Sri Lanka in 1999. Naseem was the last to achieve the feat, against Bangladesh in Rawalpindi in 2020.
The West Indies made two changes for this match, bringing in Roach for the injured Jayden Seals, and debuting Amir Jangoo at No. 3 in place of the out-of-form Keacy Carty.
This is the final series for both teams in the World Test Championship, with Pakistan ranked eighth and West Indies ninth. Australia and South Africa have already secured their places in the WTC final at Lord’s in June.