The first Test between Pakistan and the West Indies set plenty of records but, for the most part, not the sort of records that are good for Test cricket. It was one of the shortest Tests ever in terms of balls bowled and it would be a stretch to suggest it was a fair battle between bat and ball.
The second Test is being played at the same venue as the first and there is no expectation that it will be any different to the first. Commenting on the situation after the first Test, West Indies captain Kraigg Brathwaite said: “We expect the same type of pitch in the second Test, and we’ve got to come better. It was a difficult pitch to bat on for sure. But it’s their decision how they want the pitch. We’ve just got to come good.”
Before this series the last time the Windies played a Test in Pakistan was 2006; the last time they won a Test in Pakistan was November 1990. They still have their work cut out for them.
Multan hasn’t hosted many Test matches in recent times. Of the last four that have been played here however, the side that has batted first has won three times – as was the case in the first Test.
Pakistan vs West Indies | Second Test | Saturday 25 January 2025 | Multan Cricket Stadium, Multan | 07:30am
Pakistan
While on the surface Pakistan’s first Test win seemed comfortable, a bit of analysis suggests that there wasn’t much in it. The primary difference was in the first innings stand between Saud Shakeel and Mohammad Rizwan. The pair added 141 for the fifth wicket as they recorded the two highest scores of the game with 84 and 71 respectively. If that partnership were removed from the scorebook, it would have been a win for the visitors.
What Shakeel and Rizwan showed (as did Shan Masood in the second innings), is that the wicket was not completely impossible. There are runs to be had if the focus and technique are there.
Shakeel went into the first Test with an average in Multan of 50.50. He scored 82 in his first innings and two in the second to once again show he likes the surface there. He’s the number eight-ranked bowler in the world and it would not be a surprise to see him top score again in this Test.
Batting ace Babar Azam’s barren run continued in the first Test as he registered scores of eight and five. He has now gone 25 innings without a ton – and to be honest, it seems unlikely that will change in the second Test.
West Indies
The one West Indian player who emerged from the first Test carnage was Jomel Worrican. He grabbed a few records for himself with his second innings return the third-best ever by a visiting bowler in Pakistan and the best by a visiting spinner.
Windies skipper Kraigg Brathwaite has said his batters need to work harder at applying themselves and adapting to the conditions. In the first innings, Worrican and Jayden Seales got themselves into the record books for being just the third time in Test history that the two highest scorers in a Test innings were numbers 10 and 11. The point is, they were brave, and they attacked. They were never going to come to the party with great technique, but they were able to contribute, and the rest of the team needed to follow suit.
Alick Athanaze who scored 55 in the second knock did apply himself. Blending aggression with sound cricketing principles he showed what can be done with some genuine application.
It’s all good and well to call on your players to adapt and apply themselves, but one of the key elements that allows for this to happen is experience – and sadly the Windies batsmen are lacking badly in that department with just Test 15 centuries between them. Of those 15, 12 belong to Brathwaite who is far and away the most experienced player in their lineup. Braithwaite has 12 centuries and 30 fifties at an average of 33.43.
The wicket at Multan seems tailor-made for the home bowlers. But the truth is that the best bowler in the game was Worrican, who returned match figures of 10 for 101. His second-innings return of seven for 32 was the best ever by a visiting spinner in Pakistan. He is one player who will be looking forward to the second Test.
Worrican’s second innings return was noticeably better than his first. This is probably less to do with the fact that the wicket offered him more the second time around, and more to do with the fact that he was controlling his spin better the second time around – such was the nature of the wicket that it was almost a case of turning it too much sometimes!
Verdict: Pakistan
One thing is certain, this game will have a result. Expect it to be close, but it should go Pakistan’s way. That said, a Windies upset is not an impossibility. The sides are evenly matched, and this looks set to be a game that turns on a few key moments.
