Watch cricket video highlights of West Indies tour of Pakistan 2025. First Test between Pakistan and West Indies. Venue of the match will be Multan.
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On a surface they liked, Noman Ali and Sajid Khan displayed a masterclass in spin bowling, taking nine of the 10 wickets to dismiss the West Indies for 137 in less than a period. Apart from that, Pakistan performed better at bat, scoring 230 runs in the first innings despite a collapse following the breaking of the 141-run partnership between Saud Shakeel and Mohammad Rizwan. However, in the last session, they overtook the visitors with a dominant batting display in the second innings.
Their skipper, Shan Masood, led the charge with a half-century that increased Pakistan’s advantage to 202 with seven wickets remaining. On a day where 19 wickets were lost, the middle session was the most notable because Noman and Sajid bowled all but 14 deliveries in their innings, leaving the West Indies with no response. In just his second over, Sajid began the devastation by dismissing Mikyle Louis and Keacy Carty off consecutive balls, even as Carty was taken out by a brilliant slip catch by Mohammad Hurraira.
Sajid had taken four wickets by the end of his third over as the West Indies struggled to attack or defend against a spin combination that was incredibly precise. Noman joined in on the action, clipping the edge of Justin Greaves’ off-stump with a spin and slide. The left-armer, who was starting to get enormous rips off the hardly formed footmarks, took the first of five wickets. West Indies started to take a more aggressive stance as the innings went on, attempting to cheat a few runs.
But before the last two partnerships took off, there was little success as several batsmen dragged it on to their stumps. Jomel Warrican and Gudakesh Motie started playing aggressive shots, with Warrican occasionally using the back of the bat while doing the reverse sweeps. West Indies scored 71 for the final two wickets after being 66 for 8 at one point. Only in the final wicket stand between Warrican and Jayden Seales did the West Indies overpower the spinners, following a partnership of 25 between Motie and Warrican.
Both batters blasted the spinners over cow corner for several sixes, making a clean connection. Pakistan was compelled to use Abrar Ahmed for the first time as a result. The partnership did eventually come to an end, but only after the two had amassed 46 runs off of 21 balls. Rizwan made the catch and put a stop to the feisty counterattack after Seales miscued a googly and failed to pick it up. Masood and Hurraira quickly dispelled any belief that the West Indies would be among the wickets in the last session as a result of their failure against spin.
Despite not taking the wickets that would have shown this on the scorecard, Seales, whose pace and seam movement had made him the bowlers’ surprise choice on the first day, once again showed his formidable danger. Masood, on the other hand, was quick to strike and extend the advantage before the day was up. He was also skilled against spin bowling and aggressive with his feet. The bowling became a little messy; there were twelve byes because the spin became as difficult for the bowlers to manage as it was for the hitters.
Before Babar Azam batted for the spin and was rapped in front of middle, Warrican was dangerous with the one who continued with the arm and took both of his wickets in that manner, first Hurraira. When Kamran Ghulam went down low, a careless sweep hit him in the arm, preventing the West Indies from catching him as well. HawkEye incongruously depicted the ball to be soaring high over the stumps, yet the umpire nonetheless raised the finger. West Indies were given Masood’s wicket as a kind of make-up.
He was left alone in the middle of the field after calling for a run without fully realizing that Ghulam was far down the field. Thus, before Warrican ripped the bails off, Masood had little chance of reaching the non-striker’s end. Pakistan collapsed earlier in the morning session as West Indies captured four wickets for 13 runs. First, the partnership between Shakeel and Rizwan was broken, putting the West Indies two wickets away from defeating the hosts. The authority with which Shakeel and Rizwan had concluded the first day had carried over into the morning.
However, Pakistan’s fight vanished as Kevin Sinclair caught Shakeel 16 seconds short of his sixth Test century. Pakistan was knocked out for 230 on the stroke of lunch, but West Indies were able to advance through the innings even earlier thanks to a powerful rearguard combination between Sajid and Khurram Shahzad. As Seales and Warrican closed in, the West Indies had started the day by maintaining strict and orderly lines, at one point giving up six runs in seven overs.
However, neither batsman presented any opportunities during this period, and West Indies faced the threat of being eliminated from the match when Pakistan managed to win the opening hour. However, the first ball following refreshments made the West Indies happy. Before grabbing the ball and seizing Shakeel’s edge, Sinclair enticed him forward. The ball hissed and spit off the surface as if it had been forgotten, and the pitch abruptly started to remind everyone how unfriendly it could be to hitters against great spin.
Salman Ali Agha was tricked during the Warrican trip in order to continue before Pakistan collapsed. After a strange confusion, Rizwan turned away from Noman, leaving him frantically trying to make his way back to the non-striker’s end. However, a quick review from the West Indies halted Rizwan’s innings at 71 as he attempted a reverse sweep off the subsequent pitch. Before the innings fizzled out, Pakistan managed a few more runs thanks to an interesting stand from Sajid and Shahzad.
In a brief burst, Sajid hit Sinclair over cow corner for six as Pakistan scored 25 rapid runs. West Indies claimed the final six wickets for 43 runs in a two-half period, but Warrican came back to end the innings, easily defeating both. It served as a premonition for the remainder of the day, when the wicket-taking persisted without interruption.
