Tea Pakistan 86 for 4 (Shakeel 33*, Rizwan 18*, Seales 3-19) vs West Indies
After the start was delayed by four hours owing to heavy fog that enveloped the ground, Pakistan won the toss and batted first in hazy conditions, with the floodlights on throughout the course of play. Left-arm spinner Gudakesh Motie bowled the first ball, an indication of how both sides perceive the pitch, on which each played three specialist spinners.
Motie got rid of Pakistan captain Shan Masood early on, squeezing him down to the debutant wicketkeeper Tevin Imlach on the leg side. But for the rest of the hour, it was Seales’ show. He had been sniffing right from the outset, and got his reward when Hurraira hung his bat out and got the outside edge. That was followed up by a beauty to remove Ghulam, who had just dispatched an outswinger to the boundary.
The delivery after the four, Ghulam shouldered arms, but the ball seamed back into him wickedly, rapping the thigh, with HawkEye showing it would have clipped the top of off. The big fish came soon after, another glorious use of the seam. Seales hit a hard length which Babar looked to parry into the off side. But it shaped away just enough to kiss the outside edge through to Imlach. Babar reviewed, but, like Ghulam, he was not reprieved.
The innings threatened to fall apart at that point, but Shakeel, seasoned on surfaces like these, restored some order to proceedings for Pakistan. The sting was taken out of the quicks, and the spinners were negotiated deftly. Rizwan, at the other end, kept his concentration levels up as West Indies continued to prowl
There remained plenty for the visitors to get excited about, but neither batter offered a chance while ticking the runs over, dragging Pakistan towards a slightly less perilous position than they found themselves in after the first hour.