Pakistan v West Indies - Second Test

Iqbal Stadium, Faisalabad

Pakistan: Hanif Mohammad, Saeed Anwar, Majid Khan, Javed Miandad, Zaheer Abbas, Asif Iqbal, *Imran Khan, Wasim Akram, +Wasim Bari, Abdul Qadir, Waqar Younis.
West Indies: CG Greenidge, DL Haynes, IVA Richards, EdeC Weekes, *CH Lloyd, OG Smith, +PJL Dujon, MD Marshall, MA Holding, LR Gibbs, CA Walsh.

Debuts: OG Smith (WI)
Umpires: DR Shepherd (ENG) & AR Crafter (AUS)
Toss: West Indies

West Indies needed a big improvement after their lacklustre showing in Karachi, and with Garry Sobers still sidelined, Collie Smith would make his debut in Faisalabad after being flown out to bolster the touring party's reserves. Pakistan also made changes, with both Wasim Bari and Abdul Qadir earning recalls at the expense of Moin Khan and Iqbal Qasim.

Clive Lloyd won his first toss as skipper and elected to bat, but an inordinately slow paced wicket at the Iqbal Stadium made strokeplay difficult, and West Indies struggled their way to a disappointing total of 272 before their innings came to an end shortly before tea on day two. Lloyd himself tried to up the pace with a fluent 60, but the innings was held together by Des Haynes, who batted nearly eight hours for his 104 before falling to Majid's part time off breaks. Six different bowlers took wickets for Pakistan, but Clive Lloyd's attack responded in kind as West Indies hauled themselves straight back into the match in dramatic fashion.

Pakistan slumped to 55-4 at the close of the second day, Malcolm Marshall having become just the second bowler after Bill O'Reilly to claim 200 ATG wickets when he had Hanif caught by Haynes at short leg for 6, and it took a truly magnificent century from Zaheer Abbas on day three to keep Pakistan in sight of the tourists. Zaheer stroked his way to 118 out of Pakistan's eventual total of 208, the next highest score being 27 from Abdul Qadir batting at number ten, and in the context of the game it was one of the best centuries you are likely to see. Qadir - dropped on 6 by Marshall - helped Zaheer add 81 for the ninth wicket, by far the highest partnership of the innings and a Pakistani record, and after Collie Smith had taken two wickets in his first over to reduce Pakistan to 127-8, including the wicket of Akram with his very first ball, they were crucial runs.

Nonetheless, West Indies still held a 64 run advantage on first innings, and with the wicket hardening that lead was extended by almost 300 runs on a nip-and-tuck fourth day. Haynes had followed his first innings century with a duck on the previous evening, and with Greenidge - courtesy of a stunning catch by Majid - Richards and Weekes all departing relatively cheaply, it was nightwatchman Michael Holding that provided the impetus for West Indies with a stunning assault on the bowling. Qadir disappeared for 44 runs off 6 overs as Holding flayed a career high 70 from 107 balls before Akram removed him, and from 138-5 Clive Lloyd steered the innings away from danger with his fourth consecutive fifty of the series.

Wickets continued to fall at the other end though, and at 207-8 Pakistan were still very much in the hunt. However, Lloyd was playing a true captain's innings, and the last two wickets added a further 95 runs as West Indies moved into a seemingly impregnable position. A ninth wicket partnership with cousin Lance Gibbs (15) put on 55, then Walsh somehow survived for nearly an hour for 11* as the tenth wicket added a further 40 unbeaten runs and Lloyd completed a well earned century. Lloyd had extended the innings into the fifth day in order to reach three figures though, and when he declared at 302-9, Pakistan were left with an unlikely target of 367 to win, with the main question being whether Lloyd had left enough time to claim ten wickets.

That question seemed to have been answered when outside edges from Saeed Anwar (2) and Majid (0) left Pakistan floundering at 3-2, and had Weekes been able to hold an edge from Hanif off Holding, the hosts would have been in even deeper trouble. As it was, Hanif and Javed were able to rally with a stand of 107, but the run outs of Hanif (45) and Zaheer (6) tipped the balance back towards West Indies, with Pakistan teetering at 124-4. Asif hit the ground running though, and despite losing Javed for 70 courtesy of a dubious caught behind decision given by umpire Shepherd, the innings actually gathered momentum and thoughts started to turn towards a miraculous home win.

Asif carved his way to the third fastest fifty in ATG history (38 balls), and the score was taken to 251-5 in partnership with Imran, just 116 away from victory with 23 overs still to be bowled. Lloyd now threw the ball to Michael Holding, and 'Whispering Death' responded by killing Pakistan's chase with the wickets of Imran (31), Akram (2) and Wasim Bari (4), leaving Pakistan on 265-8 with 15 overs still to be bowled. Asif completed a wonderful century from just 98 balls, his presence at the crease maintaining Pakistan's hopes of survival, and when Dujon failed to reach an edge off Holding, both Asif's and Pakistan's chances of holding on for the draw increased significantly. Abdul Qadir batted resolutely for the second time in the match, and with West Indies' bowlers finally running out of steam the game ended in a draw, with Pakistan 58 short of victory on 309-8.

It had been a classic Test, with fortunes changing at regular intervals, and after a soporific opening we were treated to three and a half days of cricket that was truly for the connoisseur. Lloyd's delayed declaration and a couple of dropped catches cost West Indies dear on the final day, but outstanding innings from Zaheer and Asif secured the draw that maintains Pakistan's 1-0 series lead with two Tests still to play.

Scores
WI 1st Inns 272 (Haynes 104, Lloyd 60)
PAK 1st Inns 208 (Zaheer Abbas 118)
WI 2nd Inns 302-9 dec. (Lloyd 104*, Holding 70; Waqar Younis 4-70)
PAK 2nd Inns 309-8 (Asif Iqbal 126*, Javed Miandad 70, Hanif Mohammad 45; Holding 4-55)

MATCH DRAWN

Man of the Match: Zaheer Abbas