Darren Bravo Battle to Keep West-Indies Afloat

Marlon Samuels's stroke-filled 76 and Darren Bravo's unbeaten fifty helped West Indies chip away at the lead as they finished the second session at 211 for 3, 368 runs in arrears, on Day 3 of the Day-night Test against Pakistan at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium on Saturday (October 15).

Samuels strode out to the middle after the Tea break with a brisk gait and continued to collect runs at will. On a pristine track for batting, he showed purposeful aggression by drilling a couple of drives off Mohammad Nawaz in the 61st over. He also camped back to crack a sublime punch off Sohail Khan. The Jamaican veteran, however, had a couple of hairy moments. In the 56th over, he lofted one back to Azhar Ali, but the 30-year-old couldn't latch onto the chance. Azhar also injured his bowling hand in the process and hobbled back to the pavilion.

At the other end, Bravo played with sure touch. His calm demeanour while facing Yasir Shah in the second session indicated that the left-hander had overcome his early troubles against the spinner. In fact, Yasir tested him by varying his trajectory, but Bravo was equal to the task. Bravo then reached his fifty in style with a rasping cut shot off Yasir. Incidentally, his 176-ball 50 turned out to be the slowest half-century of his Test career.

Eventually, it was Sohail who broke the threatening 113-run stand by snuffing out Samuels leg-before. The right-arm pacer generated a hint of reverse swing to trap Samuels in front. The 35-year-old thought of asking for the review, but after consulting Bravo, decided against it and trudged back to the pavilion. The HawkEye projected that it would crash into the leg-stump. Even before Samuels was dislodged, there were fleeting signs that he was having a few problems against the incoming delivery.

After Samuels was prised out, Bravo and Jermaine Blackwood (14 not out) withstood a few testing spells from the bowlers before the Dinner break. Blackwood also escaped a close shout for leg-before off Yasir. Initially the loud appeal was turned down, but Misbah-ul-Haq went for the review. However, there was inconclusive evidence as to whether it hit the bat first or the pad. As a result, the original decision wasn't overturned.

For Pakistan, Wahab Riaz and Yasir were arguably the best bowlers of the second session. Riaz bowled a zestful spell and swung the old ball, while Yasir extracted appreciable turn.

At the start of the day, Yasir spun a web around the batsmen and was rewarded with the scalp of Kraigg Brathwaite (32). He drew out Brathwaite with clever flight and defeated him with dip and subtle turn to castle the opener. The 23-year-old also paid the price for playing down the wrong line. Even after Brathwaite was dismissed, the legspinner continued to prey on unsuspecting batsmen. Yasir seemed to visualise at the top of his mark where he would pitch the ball and on most occasions, executed it with near-perfection.

However, the credit should go to Samuels and Bravo for nullifying the early threat posed by the legspinner. Samuels was light on his feet as he landed enough punches by skipping down the track to crunch free-flowing drives. Meanwhile, Bravo struggled a touch to counter Yasir's ability to constantly pitch the ball on a few rough patches from round the wicket. However, he too showed the resolve to cast aside self doubts and wade through the spell. He was also a trifle lucky as Asad Shafiq dropped a tough chance at slip off Yasir in the 32nd over.

Just like yesterday, the pink ball lost its shape after the Tea break and had to be changed. West Indies have mounted a fightback on Day 3, but they are still trailing by a sizeable margin and need the middle order to deliver.

Brief scores: Pakistan 579/3 (Azhar Ali 302*, Sami Aslam 90; Devendra Bishoo 2-125) lead West Indies 211/3 (Marlon Samuels 76, Darren Bravo 56*; Yasir Shah 2-71) by 368 runs.