Shan Masood in press conference© X (Twitter)

Pakistan vs West Indies, 2nd Test Day 3: West Indies defeated Pakistan by 120 runs© AFP

Kevin Sinclair led a West Indian spin trio to give the tourists a sniff of a series-levelling win in the second Test Sunday with Pakistan on the ropes at 76-4 after day two in Multan. The gutsy West Indies scored 244 in their second innings to set the hosts a daunting 254-run target on a spinning Multan Stadium pitch. At stumps, Saud Shakeel was unbeaten on 13 and nightwatchman Kashif Ali on one. The West Indies need only six more wickets to draw the series 1-1.

Pakistan need a demanding 178 runs for victory. They won the first Test by 127 runs, also in Multan.

Sinclair (2-41) opened the floodgates by trapping Pakistan skipper Shan Masood leg before for two and then had the prized wicket of Babar Azam caught for a dour 31.

Azam had added 43 with Kamran Ghulam, who was dropped twice, on two and six, but the lapses did not prove costly to the West Indies.

Gudakesh Motie had Muhammad Hurraira for two and Jomel Warrican dismissed Ghulam for 19.

The day saw 14 wickets fall, after 20 on day one.

In the morning West Indian skipper and opener Kraigg Brathwaite led the fight for the visitors with a gritty 52.

The last four wickets added an invaluable 99 runs before the tourists were dismissed for 244 in their second innings at tea.

Left-arm spinner Noman Ali finished with 4-80 — 10 wickets in the match — while partner Sajid Khan took 4-76, six in the match.

The West Indies were 129-5 at lunch when Noman dismissed Alick Athanaze for six, before the tourists put up a fight that could prove decisive.

Tevin Imlach scored 35 and Sinclair 28 to boost their team’s lead during a stubborn stand of 51 for the seventh wicket, before Sajid accounted for Sinclair and Motie for 18.

Pacer Kashif had Imlach but the last pair of Warrican and Kemar Roach took the total past 240, before Sajid had Warrican caught for 18.

Earlier, Brathwaite led the way with two sixes and four boundaries in his 31st Test half-century.

Noman broke a solid 50-run opening stand by dismissing Mikyle Louis for seven after the tourists started their second innings in the morning.

Brathwaite overturned two leg-before decisions against him before he was stumped by Mohammad Rizwan off Noman.

Debutant Amir Jangoo also batted well for his 30 with three boundaries, before Sajid had him caught in the slips by Salman Agha.

Kavem Hodge was stumped by Rizwan off Noman for 15 as the West Indies slumped from 92-1 to 129-5.

Pakistan vs West Indies, 2nd Test Day 2, Live Score Updates© AFP

Pakistan Test captain Shan Masood is under consideration for Champions Trophy squad.© AFP

Spinner Sajid Khan took five wickets and Abrar Ahmed another four to guide Pakistan to a 127-run win on the third day of the first Test against West Indies in Multan on Sunday. Sajid took 5-50 for match figures of 9-115, while leg-spinner Abrar Ahmed snared 4-27 as West Indies were dismissed for 123, falling well short of their victory target of 251. Pakistan’s spinners took all the wickets in West Indies’ second innings, with Noman Ali chipping in with 1-42, as the home side took an early advantage in the two-Test series.

Left-handed batter Alick Athanaze hit 55, the only half-century of the match for the tourists, and added 41 runs for the sixth wicket with Tevin Imlach.

Sajid removed the dangerous Athanaze, while Abrar’s haul included the final wicket of Jomel Warrican.

Left-armer Warrican had led the spin attack for the tourists with a career-best 7-32 as Pakistan were bowled out for 157 in their second innings.

They were the best figures by a West Indian bowler in Pakistan, topping fast bowler Malcolm Marshall’s 5-33 at Lahore in 1986.

Pakistan captain Shan Masood praised his spinners but said he wanted to see an improvement in the side’s batting.

“The spinners were clinical and Abrar along with Noman and Sajid was great,” Masood said.

“Batting was tough on this pitch but we still need to add more runs with the last few wickets and there are improvements to be made.”

His beaten counterpart Kraigg Brathwaite wanted West Indies’ batters to believe in their abilities.

“The batters didn’t play as well as they should have,” Brathwaite said.

“We saw how Alick played so we just have to be brave. We have got one more Test and we have to believe in ourselves.”

The Test lasted fewer than eight sessions, with the start delayed on the first day by poor visibility.

The Multan pitch provided sharp turn, with Sajid taking the wickets of Brathwaite (12), Keacy Carty (six), Kavem Hodge (0) and Mikyle Louis (13).

Noman then trapped Justin Greaves leg before wicket for nine in the last over before lunch, leaving the tourists tottering on 54-5.

Noman took 5-39 in the first innings. He and Sajid took 39 of the 40 wickets in the last two Tests against England in Pakistan’s 2-1 series win last year.

Pakistan had resumed earlier on 109-3 but managed to add just 48 runs.

Warrican’s nagging line and length earned him match figures of 10-101, his first 10-wicket match haul.

He dismissed overnight batter Saud Shakeel for two with the first ball of the day and then had Mohammad Rizwan for the same score in his next over.

Warrican continued the demolition with the wickets of Kamran Ghulam (27), Noman (nine) and Sajid (five).

The second match starts on January 25, also in Multan.

File image of Shan Masood.© X (Twitter)

Pak vs WI 1st Test Live Streaming And Live Telecast: When, Where To Watch© AFP

Pakistan skipper Shan Masood believes the ball-tracking depicted by the Hawkeye didn’t paint the correct picture which led to his dismissal in the second innings of the final Test of the series against South Africa, reported ESPNCricinfo. Masood, batting at 145, was trapped in front of the stumps by debutant Kwena Maphaka. The on-field umpire, Nitin Menon, initially turned down the appeals which led to South Africa taking the decision upstairs by exercising the option of DRS. During the review, the trajectory depicted that the ball would have gone to crash into the stumps, leading to the overturning of the on-field decision.

After Pakistan’s series whitewash, Masood felt that the ball-tracking failure was at fault which led to his dismissal, and said as quoted from ESPNcricinfo, “It’s simple. It was an outswinger. If you see the ball that I was beaten by, it jagged away a long way. I was beaten on the outside edge, and it was shown as an inswinger. I was baffled by that to be very honest.”

Masood, who batted for nearly six hours across two days of play, was hardly troubled throughout his stay at the crease. The delivery that undid all of his hard work, landed at length and kept a bit low while beating the outside edge. Masood’s attempt to defend it went in vain as the ball struck his back pad.

“With the naked eye, you could see it felt like it was outside the line as well. I just felt it was a different picture. I didn’t get hit where Hawkeye was showing it to be hit. I was hit more on the outside of the leg than the inside; it shows it on the inside. That’s not an inswinger. I was beaten by an outswinger and that’s what the umpire thought as well, and that’s all I can say to that,” he added.

When the on-field decision was overturned, Masood didn’t hide away his emotions. He visibly held a look of anger and frustration on his face. When he crossed the boundary line he made a gesture by throwing his hand in an outward arc suggesting the movement of the ball.

“It’s up to the administrators to see if that’s a fair decision or not, but I certainly felt that technology didn’t show the trajectory of how that ball was,” Masood said.

While Pakistan did end up losing by 10 wickets against South Africa in the second Test at Cape Town, it was after a valiant fight in the second innings where they posted a total of 478 while following on. After South Africa posted 615 in their first innings, Pakistan were skittled over for just 194, forcing them to follow-on. However, led by a superb 145 by captain Shan Masood, Pakistan fought hard in the second innings, ultimately setting a new record on South African soil.

Pakistan’s total of 478 is now the highest score while following on by a visiting team in South Africa in the 136 years since the first time a Test match was played in the nation. It is also the first time a visiting team has crossed the total of 400 while following on in South Africa.

It surpasses the previous best follow-on total of 372/7 set by Australia in Johannesburg in 1902, over 122 years ago.

The record of the highest follow-on total in South Africa belongs to the host nation, who scored 572 against England in Durban in 1999.

Opening the batting, Shan Masood and Babar Azam (81) set up a 205-run stand, 11 runs more than the total managed by Pakistan in their first innings. On Day 4, Masood reached a brilliant century, while valuable contributions were made by Salman Agha (48) and Mohammad Rizwan (41).

This meant that Pakistan managed to overturn the follow-on deficit of 421, and ultimately were bowled out for 478, giving them a 57-run lead.

Despite the valiant batting performance, the 58-run target proved to be a cakewalk for the Proteas, who reached it in just 7.1 overs.

Aiden Markram and David Bedingham opened the batting in the second innings. The latter slammed 44 off just 30 balls to take South Africa home, helping them clinch the series 2-0.

The win confirmed that South Africa would finish top of the World Test Championship (WTC) table for the 2023-25 cycle, no matter how other results play out. The Proteas will play their first WTC final against reigning champions Australia at Lord’s in June.