The only bright moment for the West Indies in their tour to the United Arab Emirates was quickly shut out as Yasir Shah took a return catch to send back the only shining light in the West Indies' line-up, Darren Bravo. They have had a wretched tour under a captain whose position is bound to come under heavy scrutiny.
A series whitewash loss in a format they excel in, T20s, started off the campaign. The formats changed as T20s made way for its bigger brother, ODIs, but the results remained the same. Another 3-0 loss created further chaos. The opening day-night Test showed a bit of a fightback from the West Indies, but despite Darren Bravo and Devendra Bishoo playing their heart out, luck did not favour the away side.
We come to Abu Dhabi, the venue for the second Test between the two teams. The West Indies will need to remind themselves that they are not the best of Test teams going around and with talks of the introduction of tiers and conferences in Test cricket going on, the Windies will need to show they are no pushovers. Let us take a look at a few things the men from the Caribbean will have to correct to save the second Test.
#1 The opening pair
Leon Johnson and Kraigg Brathwaite promised much with solid but slow starts in both innings. But neither could carry on after playing out the early period. While Brathwaite is a highly talented and established opener, Johnson is yet to stamp down his spot at the top of the order.
Both the openers fell to Yasir Shah in the first innings after overcoming a tight start Mohammad Amir and Sohail Khan.
In the second innings, it was Amir who accounted for the duo with some well-directed deliveries at the stumps. Johnson and Brathwaite will have to provide a good start for West Indies to compile competing totals. Unless they provide a foundation for the Windies, the second Test will lead to a similar result.
#2 Lacklustre pace bowlers
The fast bowlers, led by the pacy Shannon Gabriel, were too wayward allowing Pakistan batsmen to settle in nicely. Gabriel was the major culprit over-stepping as many as 10 times in the first innings. Inspite of consistently bowling in and around the 140kmph mark, Gabriel never found the groove that he had during the tri-series in the Caribbean against Australia and South Africa.
Jason Holder was consistent but not threatening, but again, that isn’t enough for the Windies. The pace bowlers will have to up their game to provide some support to Bishoo and Roston Chase. With Younis Khan set to return to the fold for Pakistan, the bowling needs to be extra sharp.
#3 Improvements in the field
Skipper Jason Holder had told after the first Test that dropped catches were one of the prime reasons for the loss. He was right. Azhar Ali, who made 302 not out, was dropped twice - once on 17 by Leon Johnson at gully off Miguel Cummins and then at 190 by Jermaine Blackwood off Chase.
The dropped catches proved to be mighty costly as Bravo and Bishoo helped West Indies run Pakistan close.
If Ali had been caught in the first chance provided, West Indies would have had a new batsman to bowl to. It is known that Pakistan batting line-up can be pretty fragile and one wicket leads to another on most occasions, like what unfolded in the second innings. But the catch was never taken and Ali guided Pakistan to a huge total.
The West Indies will need to improve their catching and take any chances thrown at them, to beat Pakistan.
#4 Darren Bravo-like innings
Bravo was the saviour for the West Indies in both innings - he scored 87 in the first and followed it up with a brilliant century in the second, albeit in a losing cause. But the fight in him was the missing ingredient in the arsenal of his teammates.
None of the others, save Samuels, who was decent in the first innings, showed the willingness to fight it out against the Pakistani bowlers.
Allowing bowlers of the calibre of Yasir Shah and Mohammad Amir to dominate is the worst thing a batting side can do. West Indies did just that. They were either stuck in a drought of runs or trying too hard to score runs. The likes of Brathwaite, Johnson, Samuels and Blackwood will need to step it up like Bravo did.
#5 Right thinking
The West Indies could do all of the above just fine and still lose if they do not approach the match right. In the 1st Test, after Bravo's dismissal, Jason Holder failed to gather together his tail enders and finish off the game. While Holder did an appreciable job of fighting out 127 balls for his 40, his decision to play out balls rather than trying to attack before Bishoo's wicket was questionable.
The approach to a game is as important as any factor in cricket and although Holder is a young leader, he needs to grow into the role quicker as his average skills would always stand against him. Holder also ran out if ideas as Azhar Ali worked around his bowlers easily. Some more change up overs for a part-timer or a bit of innovation in the field could have been tried. But they continue to try the failed approach.
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