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IN PICS: Pakistan tear through Windies, on course for series win

Barnaby Read 17:46 23/10/2016
Pakistan placed themselves firmly in control on day three.

Pakistan’s hopes of a third series win in a row over West Indies moved further to reality on a third day in Abu Dhabi that they dominated from start to finish but it was the umpires and Decision Review System [DRS] that stole the show late on.

Three on-field decisions were overturned in the final session, Pakistan’s batsmen saved from two lbws by the TV umpire, before West Indies were given a much needed breakthrough on appeal.

Azhar Ali was the first to have a slice of luck, successfully reviewing an lbw decision off Kraigg Brathwaite. His immediate call for TV assistance suggested that he had indeed gotten glove on the ball before it hit him in line and the third umpire agreed.

But, without snicko or Ultra-Edge in this series, conclusive evidence to overturn the decision was scant, bar a slight movement of the glove as the ball passed it.

That was enough to save Azhar but in another instance the on-field decision could well have stood, although there were no remonstrations from West Indies players and the call seemed correct.

TV umpire Paul Reiffel was rocking and rolling footage once more in Brathwaite’s next over as this time Sami Aslam correctly overturned a leg before, again the TV umpire siding with the Pakistan batsman in concluding that Aslam had trapped the ball with his inside edge before impact.

Just as Aslam and Azhar seemed to be taking their side to the close without loss, a reluctant looking Jason Holder threw another decision upstairs after Shannon Gabriel thought he had Aslam caught down the leg-side.

Again, conclusive evidence was hard to find but Reiffel once more went against his counterparts’ initial not out decision to hand West Indies a vital breakthrough just moments after Aslam went to a fourth Test fifty.

Due to high costs of the full DRS system, technology intent on uncovering contact with the bat are unavailable to officials with the Pakistan Cricket Board either unwilling or unable to cover the cost of facilitating a complete TV replay package. It meant that the blurred lines of DRS were once again in evidence.

Earlier in the day, the hosts began by routinely dismissing West Indies, taking the remaining six wickets across the first two sessions of the day before putting themselves on course to a significant lead once they either declare or are bowled out.

Yasir Shah [4-86], Rahat Ali [3-45] and Sohail Khan [2-35] did the damage with the ball, allowing Pakistan to once again refuse the option of a follow-on in pursuit of putting the game beyond West Indies and setting up the task of taking their final ten wickets with time to spare and with a pitch keen to deteriorate.

Pakistan were in a similarly commanding position in the first Test before dramatically collapsing to 123 all-out and letting the tourists back into the game.

At the time, coach Mickey Arthur urged Pakistan to see out games from such positions of command and his team were left with no uncertainty over the demands he expects of them becoming more ruthless when the circumstances are so heavily weighted in their favour.

After Pakistan moved to 114-1 at the close of play, 342 runs ahead of their opponents, it looks like it will take a minor miracle for West Indies to avoid a series defeat and a third whitewash on the bounce is a real possibility.

Having won the first Test in Dubai last week, Pakistan will seal the series with victory in the UAE capital, which on evidence across the first three days here is highly likely.

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