After losing the T20 and ODI series against Pakistan, West Indies suffered another loss in the first Test, and the team from the Caribbean will hope for a determined effort as the two teams gear up for the second Test, starting Friday in Abu Dhabi. It is now or never for West Indies, who have to play consistent cricket for a span of five days in order to get better of the confident Pakistan side.
Azhar Ali played an incredible innings in the first innings of the first Test, which paved way for a huge total for Pakistan. Their batsmen looked good in the first innings, but were poor in the second innings as they were all out for 123 runs.
As a result of which, West Indies were set a target of 346 runs, and despite the brilliance of Darren Bravo in the fourth innings, scoring a ton, they fell short, and were dismissed for 289 runs.
However, West Indies should forget what happened in the recent past, and take some positive from the last Test. Besides Bravo's ton, Devendra Bishoo was brilliant in the second innings, taking eight wickets. West Indies need to be disciplined with the ball as they gave away too many extras, including Shannon Gabriel's 11 no-balls. West Indies skipper Jason Holder, after the first Test, spoke about the need to correct such things ahead of the second match.
"It's definitely an area we need to improve on but if you look at the scorecard, there were a few no-balls from both sides. It's something we have to pay attention to. Shannon was probably our head culprit. But again, he's that kind of a bowler. He runs in and gives it his all. Having said that the amount of no-balls he bowled was unacceptable and hopefully he can correct it going forward in the next Test match," ESPN Cricinfo quoted Jason Holder as saying.
Pakistan, on the other hand, will go into this match confident after the first Test win. With the inclusion of experienced batsmen Younis Khan in the squad, their batting will look more solid and stable. With Younis being a quality player of spin, he can handle Bishoo and his trickery with his willow skills.
Ali will be keen to play another incredible innings and provide a solid start to Pakistan, which will help the middle-order batsmen as well. But, even if Pakistan openers including Ali and Sami Aslam fail to deliver, they cannot afford to crumble like the way they did in the second innings, which could be disastrous this time around.
With bowlers like Mohammad Amir, Wahab Riaz and Yasir Shah, Pakistan looks a well-balanced unit, and if they get their A game going in Abu Dhabi, they might as well clinch the series by winning the second Test.
Where to watch Pakistan vs West Indies 2nd Test live
Pakistan vs West Indies 2nd Test live is scheduled for 10 am local time (11:30 a IST, 7 am BST, 11 am Pakistan time) start. TV options and live streaming options can be found below.
India: TV - Ten 3. Live streaming - Ten Sports live.
Pakistan: TV - PTV Sports. Live streaming - PTV Sports live.
USA: Willow TV. Live streaming - YouTube.
