Pakistan v West Indies 2nd Test: 'This Test was a Master Class of Bowling'

The relationship between Test cricket and the weather is very strange. Sometimes it is the weather that affects the purpose and effectiveness of the game like an opponent, sometimes it is the cloudy weather that adds drama and color to Test cricket.

On an easy wicket for batting, the ball suddenly starts swinging up to three or four degrees, the batsmen's footsteps get messed up, the slip cardin gets excited and every ball that swings or beans at full length is called. Becomes And then all of a sudden, when the sun shines, the magic of the bowlers is blown away and the fielders start moving away from the bat.

For Pakistan, the test was a do-or-die affair, and even a draw was out of the question. At the mercy of the weather, the scoreline of the series would not have been acceptable to Babar Azam if Pakistan had returned unscathed in this match.

The accessories of the Test Championship have given a full meaning and competitiveness to every bilateral competition anyway.

The situation that Pakistan faced in the first morning did not seem to be beneficial for Pakistan in any way. Losing the toss in humid conditions and being invited to bat first is a sign of great misfortune in Test cricket.

And this omen became apparent early on when Pakistan lost three wickets for two runs.

But after Babar Azam's leadership innings and Fawad Alam's another brilliant century, Pakistan desperately needed a result from where it stood, as the match was drawn after four seasons were lost due to rain. Was also not out of the question.

But Pakistan, in the face of all this, created such a response that the West Indian batsmen remained the image of 'Jai Raftan Na Paaye Mandan'. This wicket was not a bowling paradise like the first match. It took a lot of discipline to blow the batsmen here.

Shaheen Shah Afridi and Muhammad Abbas did exactly what was needed. In fact, the two and a half hours of the first extended session of the fourth day was the stage where Pakistan turned the match towards a certain draw.

West Indies had seven wickets left to spend the day and if played skillfully, a significant part of this lead could have been taken down. But Shaheen Shah Afridi remained a mystery due to his consistency, speed and restraint.

The situation worsened when Muhammad Abbas also regained his composure. Mohammad Abbas has his own importance in this bowling partnership as he gets on the nerves of the batsman with his line length skills and late movement and he is skeptical on every ball.

This partnership between Shaheen Shah Afridi and Mohammad Abbas proved to be so beneficial that this match traveled as much in three sessions as it could not have done in five sessions at normal speed.

Although it will not be easy to beat West Indies batting in the second innings, but Pakistan will have to show the same discipline that was seen in the first two and a half hours of today and the pace of the whole match changed.

This was Pakistan's master class performance in Test cricket. Such performances not only raise the expectations of the audience but also erode the confidence of the dressing room. Thanks to this performance, this match has become a blockbuster even before entering the fifth day.

Babar Azam and his attack will surely want the pale faces to appear only in the rival dressing room when the climax approaches.