West Indies' batsmen Shane Dowrich (right) and Kraigg Brathwaite celebrate after winning the third Test against Pakistan. (AFP)
Sharjah - West Indies' five-wicket victory is their first since May 2015
Published: Thu 3 Nov 2016, 11:01 AM
Last updated: Thu 3 Nov 2016, 11:52 PM
Kraigg Brathwaite and Shane Dorwich powered the West Indies to a five-wicket victory over Pakistan in the third and final Test at the historic Sharjah Cricket Stadium on Thursday.
Both the overnight batsmen scored 50s at a wicket which was still very good for batting on the fifth day. They put on 87 runs for sixth wicket to keep Pakistan at bay.
Brathwaite started the day in style by dispatching first ball of the day off Wahab Riaz to cover boundary. He completed his 12th Test fifty to make the intentions clear that West Indies mean business on the last day.
West Indies took only 40 minutes to wrap up the match and make the series 2-1.
Brathwaite and Dorwich remained unbeaten on 60 each as West Indies reached 154/5.
Dowrich played a brave innings and took the attack to Pakistan's premier bowler Yasir Shah.
He completed his fifty in style with a brilliant shot through covers. He finished the match in style with an upper cut to help West Indies cross the finish line.
The victory in Sharjah will do a world of good for a side that has been on a downhill path for long.
They have been doing well in patches but it was a determined performance against the No. 2 ranked Test side.
"We showed character and fight," West Indies skipper Jason Holder said.
"This has been a long time coming, We are a young side in transition. We've done a lot of things good this series."
The West Indies captain was all praise for man of the match Brathwaite.
"Credit must go to Kraigg. He played an outstanding innings in the first innings and took responsibility in the second and helped us cross the line," he said.
The defeat was also bad news for Pakistan captain Misbah-ul-Haq whose record 49th Test as captain failed to give the team a win.
"It's always disappointing to lose a Test," Misbah said after the match.
"Credit to West Indies. They kept improving and we kept losing momentum. We were well below our standards, especially in the batting department."
It was Holder's first victory in 12 Tests in charge and a personal milestone as he collected his first Test five-wicket haul with 5 for 30 on Wednesday.
It was also the West Indies first win in 14 Tests since beating England at Barbados on May 3, 2015.
The 2-1 series win keeps intact Pakistan's unbeaten record in their adopted home of the United Arab Emirates since the 2009 attacks on the Sri Lankan team bus in Lahore forced them to play abroad.
Pakistan have won five and drawn four in the Test series they have played in the UAE.
West Indies' win did however prevent Pakistan from achieving a rare 9-0 clean sweep after winning both the Twenty20 and one-day International series 3-0.
(With inputs from AFP)
Scoreboard
Pakistan 1st innings 281
West Indies 1st innings 337
Pakistan 2nd innings 208
West Indies 2nd innings (overnight 114-5)
K. Brathwaite not out 60
L. Johnson lbw b Shah 12
D. Bravo c Ahmed b Shah 3
M. Samuels c Babar b Shah 10
J. Blackwood b Riaz 4
R. Chase c Nawaz b Riaz 2
S. Dowrich not out 60
Extras: (lb2, nb1) 3
Total: (for 5 wkts; 43.5 overs) 154
To bat: J. Holder, D. Bishoo, A. Joseph, S. Gabriel
Fall of wickets: 1-29 (Johnson), 2-35 (Bravo), 3-57 (Samuels), 4-63 (Blackwood), 5-67 (Chase)
Bowling: Amir 9.5-0-43-0 (1nb), Riaz 12-0-46-2, Shah 15-4-40-3, Babar 3-1-3-0, Nawaz 4-0-20-0
Result: West Indies won by five wickets
Toss: Pakistan
Umpires: Michael Gough (ENG) and Paul Reiffel (AUS)
Tv umpire: Richard Illingworth (ENG)
Match referee: Jeff Crowe (NZL)
Player of the match: KC Brathwaite (West Indies)
Player of the series: Yasir Shah (Pakistan)
iPhone | iPad
Android
Huawei
