West Indies posted 126 for 7 (Chanderpaul 35, Joseph 22*, Abbas 3-14) and then 311 (Hope 92, Hodge 84, Abbas 4-50), establishing a 155‑run lead over Pakistan’s 282 (Masood 109, Imam 63, Greaves 5-27).
The inaugural Test at Tarouba surged forward on day three, producing 14 wickets and marching toward a conclusion. Yet the scene remained eerily similar to the humid morning when play commenced.
Pakistan began with Shan Masood and Salman Ali Agha at the crease, holding a slight edge over the hosts after losing only three wickets and trailing West Indies’ first‑innings total by just over 100 runs. They retained that narrow advantage, as Mohammad Abbas relentlessly attacked the home batsmen, who finished seven down, leaving a precarious 155‑run lead.
West Indies received an unexpected boost when they resumed their second innings with 29 extra runs, thanks to Justin Greaves’ sensational—and unlikely—five‑wicket haul in the morning session. However, Mohammad Abbas struck twice with another potent new‑ball burst, pulling the visitors back and preventing the slender lead from swelling into a commanding advantage by tea.
Justin Greaves took his first Test five-for•AFP/Getty Images
In seven immaculate overs he dismissed Brandon King and Kavem Hodge in classic Abbas style, drawing a feather after persistent probing on a fourth‑stump line with a seaming delivery. Mohammad Ali contributed by trapping Amir Jangoo with a fine return catch later in the session, reducing West Indies to 30 for 3 at tea and undoing some of Greaves’ earlier damage.
The bowlers maintained relentless pressure in the final session, forcing West Indies to battle for every run. Mohammad Ali, possibly the weak link, erred by pitching too straight to Tagenarine Chanderpaul, who punished the mistake with a crisp whip off the pads through midwicket.
Nevertheless, relentless pressure from the opposite end unsettled Shai Hope, prompting some odd shot selection. A gentle drive over cover off Khurram Shahzad was sensible, but Hope then stepped down the track aiming to loft Shahzad over his head on the next ball. He failed to anticipate the incoming angle, misplayed the shot and saw his middle stump shattered after his wild slog missed the mark.
Shai Hope’s attempt to counterattack against Khurram Shahzad led to an ungainly dismissal•AFP/Getty Images
Greaves and Chanderpaul added a stubborn 37‑run stand over the following hour, inching the hosts ahead. Yet the final period belonged to Pakistan, spearheaded by Aamer Jamal, who rebounded strongly after a subdued first innings to strangle the batters. A probing delivery induced Chanderpaul to mis‑cue a pull to midwicket, opening the lower order for Pakistan, while Abbas and Shahzad removed Greaves and Roston Chase.
However, exposing the tail does not guarantee swift wickets for Pakistan, which possesses the poorest record for dismissing the last four batsmen in recent years. West Indies reclaimed some momentum through a valuable cameo from Shamar Joseph, who smashed three sixes off Jamal to push the hosts’ lead beyond 150. Kemar Roach and Joseph had taken the partnership to 32 when the umpire lifted the bails, and, importantly, survived to continue the stand the following day.
Up to that point, the day had been dominated by the unlikely West Indies bowling hero Greaves, who delivered a career‑best five‑wicket haul to rip through Pakistan’s lower order. After the opening ninety minutes, during which Masood and Agha cautiously moved Pakistan toward 250, the breakthrough came when Joseph dislodged Agha’s stumps with a seaming delivery that moved away. Greaves then had Masood chop on in the next over, and relentless pressure from him caused Pakistan’s lower order to collapse.
Masood opened the day with the cautious approach that had characterised his innings after tea on Sunday. A crisp drive through the covers earned him his seventh Test century, and although Agha and Masood frustrated the West Indies, the hosts remained engaged. While wickets stayed absent, Pakistan’s position steadily improved, the occasional boundary narrowing the gap to West Indies’ total—until everything shifted in an instant.
Joseph had been probing the off‑stump corridor and delivered an unplayable ball that straightened off the seam. It turned Agha as he closed the bat face, leaving his off stump cartwheeling.
Masood, meanwhile, attacked Greaves with heavy hands in the subsequent over; this time the ball took an inside edge onto the stumps, ending an innings that could have concluded two sessions earlier. The incident intensified scrutiny over Pakistan’s decision to field a batter short, particularly as Jamal played all around a straight delivery from Greaves that knocked his middle stump out of the ground.
By then Greaves was on a roll, dismissing debutant Ali Usman with little effort as the ball darted back onto his pads to trap him front‑on. Pakistan’s discipline unraveled under the heat Greaves generated, and Mohammad Rizwan was induced into a rash swipe at Greaves just before lunch, the edge being taken by the keeper. After the break he recorded five wickets in five maiden overs—a scarcely believable spell that wrested Pakistan from the commanding position they had begun to occupy.
Abbas, however, made certain that West Indies could not settle into comfort overnight either.
