5 standout performers from the Pakistan vs West Indies Test series

As the West Indies tour of U.A.E comes to an end, it’s time to look back on what has been an enthralling exhibition of cricket at Pakistan’s adopted home. Over the last one month or so, the teams met each other in all three formats of the game, including a Day/Night Test, producing ironic results and several notable individual performances.

The series featured three T20Is, three ODIs and an equal numbers of Tests. Pakistan achieved comprehensive clean sweeps over West Indies in the limited overs formats, where they have had a rough ride in recent times and the latter were better equipped to challenge them.

But the Windies put up more than a tough fight in the Tests against the No.2 ranked team, though the longest format is no more their forte. While the reigning T20I champions gave in to meek surrender in the shorter formats, especially in T20Is, they went down fighting in each of the three Tests, though the eventual result may not paint that picture.

In the last few weeks, we saw a young and inexperienced Test side led by Jason Holder, trying to stretch the top ranked team as much as they could. After two failed attempts, they ended the tour on a high, winning the 3rd Test - their first away win since 2007 against a side ranked above them and the first for their young captain.

There were quite a few remarkable individual performances across both teams, and some of them might be unfortunate to miss out on a mention here while we take a look at 5 standout performers from the Test series:

#1 Azhar Ali

The pink ball earned for itself a reputation of posing more problems to the batsmen than the conventional red ball, during its first ever trial – the low scoring 3rd Test of New Zealand’s tour of Australia, at the Adelaide Oval last year. However, Azhar Ali showed no signs of it as Pakistan met West Indies in the 2nd Day/Night Test at the Dubai International Stadium.

Promoted to open the batting in his 50th Test, in the absence of an out of favour Mohammad Hafeez, Azhar batted himself into the record books to become the first cricketer to score a hundred, double century and triple ton in day-night Tests. The right-hander achieved this feat during his unbeaten innings of 302 in the 1st Test as Pakistan declared their first innings at 579/3.

It was Azhar’s second innings knock of 91 that gave Pakistan at least 150 runs to bowl at the Windies, in the fourth innings of the 3rd Test at Sharjah. He finished the series as the highest run-getter by a fair distance, with an aggregate of 474 runs from 6 innings, including the triple and a couple of fifties at an average of 94.80.

As if the law of averages was at play, he was also twice out on 0 during the series – including a first ball duck in the first innings of the 3rd Test.

#2 Kraigg Brathwaite

Brathwaite became the first batsman in history to carry his bat at the end of both innings of a Test

He is the quintessential Test opener in the classical mould - from a school of batting that reveres the principles of grinding down the bowlers and lasting sessions together.For their first Test win in a long while, the Windies owe everything to Brathwaite’s perseverance at the crease.

In the victorious 3rd Test at Sharjah, Brathwaite battled the odds with a monk-like focus, spending close to 700 minutes at the crease and weathering 427 balls for his unbeaten 202 runs across both innings. His dogged resistance combined with useful lower order contributions from Roston Chase, Shane Dowrich and Devendra Bishoo helped the Windies lift themselves from a lowly 68/4 to a position of strength with a very handy 56 run lead at the end of their first innings.

Brathwaite carried his bat through this innings of 142, becoming the fifth from his country to achieve the feat. After Holder and Bishoo ran through the Pakistan batting in the 2nd innings, the Windies were handed a fantastic opportunity to script a historic win, left with only 153 to chase.

However, winning is a habit they had lost touch with. Another top-order collapse left them at 67/5 and in danger of frittering away that chance, but Brathwaite rose to the occasion again with a solid, unbeaten knock of 60 that calmly saw through the nervy moments and guided them to victory.

By finishing unbeaten in both innings of the Test, he became the only opening batsman in the history of Test cricket to do so. Come to think of it, he had spent the entire duration of the Test on the field.

He finished second to Azhar Ali in the list of run-getters from the series, accumulating 328 runs from 6 innings at an average of 82.

#3 Yasir Shah

Yasir Shah was adjudged the Player of the Series for his 21 wickets

The series saw two leg spinners plying their trade for their respective teams. Pakistan’s Yasir Shah came out the slightly better of the two, finishing with a series tally of 21 wickets at an average of 26.85 runs per wicket. When he clean bowled Miguel Cummins in West Indies' first innings of the Day-night Test in Dubai, he reached the landmark of 100 Test wickets and became the joint second fastest of all time, alongside Charlie Turner, Syd Barnes and Clarrie Grimmett, in terms of number of Tests played to reach the milestone.

In the 2nd Test at the Sheikh Zayed Stadium, Abu Dhabi, Yasir registered match figures of 10/210 – his 2nd 10 wicket haul in 19 Tests – and was adjudged the ‘Player of the Match’ for a bowling performance that clinched the match as well as the series for Pakistan.

He toiled on the flat and unhelpful surfaces that didn’t offer turn even on the fifth day, bowling the most number of overs in the series - close to 200 – to prise out wickets through sheer guile. Bishoo’s 135 overs came a distant second.

Yasir Shah was also awarded the Player of the Series for his large-hearted display of high-class leg spin bowling.

#4 Devendra Bishoo

Bishoo claimed 18 wickets in the series

Close on the heels of Yasir Shah in the wickets tally was his counterpart, Devendra Bishoo. Windies leg-spinner Bishoo picked 18 scalps from the series, at 27 runs per wicket. This includes his career best figures of 8/49 in the first Test at the Dubai International Stadium - a remarkable feat against good players of spin bowling.

Not many teams score close to 600 in the first innings, secure a lead of more than 200 and still face the prospect of losing a Test match. This was exactly the situation Pakistan found themselves in, after Bishoo’s dream spell in the first day/night Test. Trailing Pakistan’s huge first innings 579, the Windies had been bowled for 357.

With an opportunity on hand to enforce the follow on, Pakistan chose to bat again and stretch the 222 run first innings lead - a move that spectacularly backfired on them, within the matter of a session. In about 32 overs between just before tea and just after dinner sessions on Day 4, Pakistan fell like a pack of cards for a total of 123 as Bishoo wrapped up their batting in quick time – only four of their batsmen crossed double digits.

Bishoo also chipped in with lower order batting contributions in desperate times, and his innings of 27, rallying around Kraigg Brathwaite in the first innings of the 3rd Test, played a good part in Windies securing the crucial first innings lead.

#5 Jason Holder

Jason Holder led his side to victory in the final Test

This was a direct tossup between Darren Bravo and Jason Holder. However, Holder edges past him for his decisive all-round contributions and captaincy that led West Indies to their historic Test triumph.

Jason Holder bowled with a lot of heart but without much luck throughout the series. Darren Bravo batted brilliantly in the first Test, with scores of 87 and 116. His second innings century, especially, helped us rewind memories of some of Brian Lara’s finest single-handed knocks for the Windies. But then, he fell on the brink of saving or winning that Test and his performances tapered off as the series progressed.

Before he caught Yasir Shah off his own bowling in the 1st Test, Holder had a solitary wicket to his name from 5 Tests in 2016. His credentials as a strike bowler were put to scrutiny by his critics. But to be fair to him, he had always either under-bowled himself or bowled with discipline and control but without wickets to show for it.

In this particular series, he sent down about 87 overs and picked 9 wickets at an impressive average of 23.66. The wickets that deserted him earlier came in plenty when he would have hoped for it the most. While taking the first innings lead gave the Windies some advantage, it was Holder’s spell of 5/30 that folded up Pakistan for 208 in their second innings, giving them a firm hold over the match.

Throughout the series, Holder played some handy knocks with the bat when the top order collapsed, notably his unbeaten 40 in the first Test and his partnership with Bravo that almost took them to victory.With his all-round performances with bat and ball, Holder deserves mention for leading by example, a largely young and inexperienced Test side.