Pakistan tour of West Indies 2021 News

Whan Fawad Alam got the hundred by pulling a bouncer from Kyle Mayers towards the square leg boundary, it was his fifth Test century in Test cricket and fourth in a span of just eight Tests and 10 months. Crediting his mother for her blessing, Fawad said it was because of his parents that he has been able to fight it out and never give up on the dream to play for Pakistan again. “First of all, I would like to inform all that my mom called before the start of the first day of this second Test. It was eight am here and six pm back home, and she just said in Urdu, ‘Jao aaj tum century banaoge’, today you will score a century,” Fawad said in a video uploaded by the Pakistan Cricket Board on their official Twitter handle. “So I don’t know what got into her, but I guess it’s all because of her blessings,” he added. But it wasn’t only his mother said the 35-year-old as he went on to describe a chant he had with his father on the same day. “I also talked to my father on the and he said, ‘West Indies me bhi ek dafa ball lehrao yaar’ ‘make a century in the West Indies too man’. So you know, these feelings that you get from your loved ones, these are very strong feelings,” he said. Fawad, who is now the 23rd Pakistan player to make five-Test centuries and the fastest among them all to do so, said, “When you have the blessings of your parents, especially your mother, you sail through all obstacles no matter what.” The southpaw after playing his first three Tests way back in 2009, didn’t get a chance to feature in another Test for Pakistan until 2020. Talking about his motivation during such times, Fawad said, “My father had been cricketer during his time and knew about the ups and downs of a sportsperson’s career. So he helped me in having a levelled head.” “There are others too who kept on encouraging me. They never said that your tome is up, they kept on saying, keep playing your time will come, and Inshallah it has worked,” Fawad continued. Talking about his unique celebration style which is inspired by the Turkish show Ertuğrul Gazi, Fawad said, “When I and Azhar Ali were playing a four-day match in New Zealand, then we decided on our celebrations that we would do if we scored a century in the New Zealand series. Luckily I did and hence the celebration has carried on from there. It is the victory sign of Gazi as you know.”

The day might have taken a lot of time to get going with wet outfield playing party pooper at Sabina Park in Jamaica on Day three of the second Test between West Indies and Pakistan. But once it did get going, Pakistan over all over it. Thanks to an unbeaten 124 from Fawad Alam, who came to bat once again after being retired hurt for on Day one and Shaheen Afridi’s ferocious spell in West Indies’ first innings, Babar Azam’s men ended the third day in a commanding position, leading by 263 runs with West Indies reeling at 39-3 in reply Pakistan’s 302-9 declared. Starting their innings, the Windies were cautious, but against a deadly speel of Shaheen where he was able to bring the ball back and take it away from the batter from the same length, it didn’t really take much time before the openers folded. Both Kraigg Brathwaite and Kieran Powell were dismissed by Shaheen. Roston Chase played few beautiful dhows before he was cleaned up by an inswinger from Faheem Ashraf when the team score had reached 34 for the West Indies Nkruma Bonner and Alzarri Joseph, who walked in as nightwatchman made sure that no more wickets and fell and the Men in Maroon would come back on Day four at 38-3. Earlier in the day, Pakistan didn’t have a good start either as it lost three crucial wickets in a span of span 13 runs from the day’s start. But then Fawad, who reached his fifth Test hundred, fourth in a span of just 10 months and eight Tests, got together, first with Hasan Ali and then with Shaheen Afridi to guide Pakistan past 300. Both Kemar roach and Jayden Seales picked three wickets each while Jason holder got the wickets of Mohammad Rizwan and Nauman Ali and Hasan Ali got run out.

The second day of the second Test match between Pakistan and the West Indies got washed away due to rain in Jamaica. The visitors had a dismal start to the proceedings on Day 1 after they were reduced to 2/3 before captain Babar Azam and Fawad Alam resisted against the West Indies bowling and stitched a stand of 158 runs. But the Pakistan side then suffered a blow when Fawad had to walk back to the pavilion after getting retired hurt as he had fallen to humidity while he was batting on a personal score of 76. Later, Babar departed for 75 when the team score read 168 and the visitors had two new batsmen at the crease in Mohammad Rizwan and Faheem Ashraf. The two batsmen made sure that Pakistan didn’t lose any further wickets in the middle. While Rizwan was at 22, Ashraf had scored 23 before the stumps were called on Day 1. For West Indies, it was Kemar Roach who returned with a three-for at the end of the day’s play. The second day of the play was abandoned without a ball being bowled due to rain and wet outfield but in the latest update, Fawad Alam is fit and would bat again. The home side is leading the two-match series 1-0 after they clinched a victory by 1 wicket in a nail-biting finish.

Pakistan were back on track in the second Test of the two-match series against West Indies in Jamaica on the first day of the encounter, courtesy a brilliant stand between captain Babar Azam and Fawad Alam. After being put into bat, the visitors had a disappointing start to the first innings as they lost Abid Ali, Imran Butt and Azhar Ali early in the proceedings. Both the openers only managed to score one run each while Azhar was dismissed for a 6-ball duck and the visiting side was reduced to 2/3 in the fourth over. But it was Babar and Fawad who came in for the rescue and steadied the ship for Pakistan. The two batsmen stitched a partnership of 166 runs for the fourth wicket but Pakistan suffered a blow when Fawad was retired hurt in the 54th over for a personal score of unbeaten 76. He had fallen to humidity and walked off the field. The skipper Babar eventually departed for 75 after being caught by Jason Holder off Kemar Roach. Later, wicket-keeper batsman Mohammad Rizwan who had replaced Fawad in the middle and Faheem Ashraf made sure that there were no more fall of wickets till the end of the day. Pakistan were 212/4 at the end of first day’s play with Rizwan (22*) and Ashraf (23*) still at the crease. . For West Indies, it was Kemar Roach who was the pick of the bowlers as he returned with a three-for while Jayden Seales scalped a wicket during the course. The hosts lead the series 1-0 at the moment after they etched a win by just one wicket in a nail-biting first clash in Jamaica.

Pakistan wicketkeeper-batsman and the vice-captain, Mohammad Rizwan has said that Pakistan players have been playing cricket under biosecure bubbles for a long time and they would need some time away from the game before the big event of ICC World T20 scheduled later this year. He said that staying continuously in a bubble is “quite tough” and that senior players want to rest, a point that is well supported by the team physio. He pointed out that rest for the seniors will open the doors of opportunities for players who have been warming the benches for a long time. “We have been playing continuously for last eight to nine months and the main thing is we are playing bio-secure bubble which is quite tough. Our main event is T20 World Cup and most of the senior players want to rest. Our physio has also suggested rest for our body and the players sitting on the bench have the best opportunity to showcase themselves,” Rizwan said in a virtual press conference before the second Test against West Indies. Pakistan fought well in the first Test of the series against West Indies but lost the game by the narrowest of narrow margin as the hosts were rescued by lower-order batsmen. Rizwan said that Pakistan is eager to bounce their way back in the series with a win in the second Test. He defended the batting lineup that failed on both occasions in the first Test and said that many of those batsmen are impact players and the team must back the players who have in them what it takes to change the course of the game by themselves. “The bottomline is we lost the Test after coming so close to winning it and it hit us and we are now looking to bounce back strongly in the second Test. I think it is also important to look at players who make small but game-changing contributions in a match. We need such impact players. Our main focus now is to level this series by winning the second game and getting equal points from it,” Rizwan added.

When teams are touring countries across the world, the theme and objective of the tours have been the preparation for the upcoming ICC World T20. But, India are touring England for a full-fledge Test series, Pakistan are there in the West Indies for a full series comprising of two Tests as well. There could have been a narrative that the flow and wider reach of the high-profile series between England and India will overshadow the West Indies vs Pakistan series. However, all those concerns and narratives were put down to rest when the Kraigg Brathwaite’s men snatched victory from the jaws of defeat against Babar Azam’s men who were equally competent to deserve a Test victory at the iconic Sabina Park in Jamaica. The win by the barest of a margin through the bat of Kemar Roach sparked fans of the game to discuss the flow of that game albeit there was a high-octane clash between India and England were underway at Lord’s. The first Test was dominated by pacers across the sides and the game went in the favour of the side that batted least bad across both innings of the game. Both the skippers were some of the few bright spots with the bat but they did not find ample support from their teammates to bat their sides into a comfortable position. It’s unlikely that the second Test of the series will be any different with the quality of pace attack on both sides and the inconsistency of the batting lineup. The tourists will be hopeful of their star duo Babar Azam and Mohammed Rizwan to stand up with the bat while the hosts will love to see the likes of Nkrumah Bonner and kyle Mayers regain the touch that made them heroes right at the start of their career. West Indies vs Pakistan: Match Details Match Number- 02 Date and Time: August 20-24, 2021, 08:30 pm IST, 11:00 pm Local, 03:00pm GMT Venue: Sabina Park, Jamaica Live Stream: FanCode Pitch Report The pitch at Sabina Park is expected to give a lot of assistance to pacers and the sides will be looking forward to strong performances from their batsmen. There will be the pace and carry for the pacers and if the bowlers will pitch in the right areas around the off stump line, there will be more and more trouble for batsmen on either side of the fence. Team News West Indies The hosts will be tempted to give Shai Hope a chance at the top of the order after Kieran Powell failed in both in the innings of the last Test. However, there is no certainty that Brathwaite will overlook the difficult batting conditions and the struggles of the other batsmen as well while making that decision. Jomel Warrican produced a subdued performance in the first game and the hosts could be tempted to bring the raw seam bowling option of Alzarri Joseph in his place. Rest nine players select themselves for the Test which the hosts will be desperate to win to clinch the series which will be a happy end of the season for them after suffering massive defeats at the hands of South Africa. Probable XI Kraigg Brathwaite (C), Shai Hope, Nkrumah Bonner, Jermaine Blackwood, Roston Chase, Kyle Mayers, Jason Holder, Joshua Da Silva (WK), Alzarri Joseph, Kemar Roach, Jayden Seales Pakistan The visitors were in the game right till the last ball of the game which Kemar Roach hit through the infield to win the game, and in all fairness, they played their best possible playing XI. The result did not go their way but they are unlikely to make any change in their playing XI except for some untoward problems right close to the start of the game. Probable XI Abid Ali, Imran Butt, Azhar Ali, Babar Azam (C), Fawad Alam, Mohammad Rizwan (WK), Faheem Ashraf, Hasan Ali, Yasir Shah, Mohammad Abbas, Shaheen Afridi Fantasy XI M Rizwan (WK), F Alam, K Brathwaite, J Blackwood, R Chase, K Roach, Hasan Ali, M Abbas, J Seales Captain: Babar Azam Vice-captain: Jason Holder