Sajid bags four to put Pakistan on victory path

West Indies 137 and 54 for 5 (Louis 13, Sajid 4-25) need another 197 runs to beat Pakistan 230 and 157 (Masood 52, Hurraira 29, Warrican 7-32)

Well, how do you sum that up? A madcap opening session on the third day in Multan saw 12 wickets fall. Pakistan lost seven wickets for 48 runs, with Jomel Warrican registering the third-best figures for a visiting spinner in Pakistan. Yet Pakistan are on the cusp of a commanding win in this opening Test as West Indies go into lunch at 54 for 5, Sajid Khan taking another four wickets, with the visitors still 197 runs from victory.

The omens were there. The day began with Pakistan’s best player of spin falling off the day’s first delivery when Saud Shakeel clipped one to short midwicket. Warrican followed it up with the wicket of Rizwan the following over, and on a pitch where grip and turn became ever more variable, Pakistan’s batters were finding it hard work.

Kamran Ghulam had hung around until then, but some extra turn drew his outside edge to give Warrican his first five-wicket haul in Test cricket. West Indies began to burrow into the tail as Warrican grew in confidence. He varied his pace to trap Noman Ali in front of the stumps as he tried a reverse sweep, before making it seven when Sajid miscued a slog and got an edge to backward point.

The ninth wicket did not register directly in Warrican’s account, but it may as well have. Salman Ali Agha prodded one to him on the offside before haring off for a single, but Warrican picked up cleanly and hit the stumps direct, catching Khurram Shahzad well out of his crease. The innings wrapped up when Salman tried to go over the top against Gudakesh Motie, only to find long off, and Pakistan were all out for 157.

But West Indies still had about 15 overs to face before lunch, and Pakistan have just about made victory safe in this time. The visitors began with positive intent, having realised that poking and prodding would get them nowhere. It saw them through the first four overs, but as Sajid said after day two, the strategy was to attack with the ball and defend with the field. Brathwaite employed the slog-sweep to good effect so Pakistan had a fielder at deep midwicket, and it was him that the opener picked out to give West Indies their first breakthrough.

With prodigious turn around, especially to the right-hander off the footmarks, the stumps were always in play, and it helped Sajid clean up Mikyle Louis and Kavem Hodge to reduce West Indies to 37 for 4. Noman, who had surprisingly not opened the bowling from the other end, came into the attack and picked up a wicket on the stroke of lunch when Justin Greaves missed a sweep laden with risk in front of middle stump.

Pakistan are halfway to victory in this final innings, and on a surface like this, you suspect the other half may follow rather soon.