Port of Spain, August 3: The second Test match between West Indies and Pakistan is currently underway at the Queen’s Park Oval. By the end of the first day’s play, the Caribbean team had scored 239 runs for the loss of 5 wickets.
West Indies managed to recover from early setbacks. Captain Roston Chase won the toss and opted to bat first. The start was not promising for the Caribbean side. Tagenarine Chanderpaul was dismissed for just 15 runs. Meanwhile, Kevon Hodge also struggled, getting out for 10 runs. Aamer Jamal could not capitalize on a good start, scoring only 26 runs off 55 balls.
Shai Hope also fell short, contributing just 29 runs before being dismissed. Brendan King made 46 runs, hitting 9 boundaries off 50 balls, but West Indies found themselves in trouble at 173 runs with 5 wickets down. However, Justin Greaves and captain Roston Chase steadied the innings, forming a crucial partnership of 66 runs for the sixth wicket. Chase has faced 70 balls, scoring 36 runs with the help of 5 fours, while Greaves has scored 64 runs off 125 balls and remains at the crease.
In terms of bowling, Pakistan’s Mohammad Ali took the most wickets, claiming 2, while Ubaid Shah, Ali Usman, and Sajid Khan each took 1 wicket.
Earlier, Pakistan made a notable change to their playing XI by dropping their leading wicket-taker from the first Test, Mohammad Abbas, due to conditions. Captain Babar Azam explained that the decision was made considering the circumstances. The team made a total of four changes for the second Test, with Abdul Shafique replacing the injured Shan Masood. In contrast, West Indies did not alter their winning combination.