The West Indies began to fight back yesterday, but the first Test in Dubai looks destined for a draw after a massive first innings and triple century from Azhar Ali for Pakistan. Join The Roar for live scores of Day 4 from 10:30pm (AEDT).
Pakistan ran through the first two days in convincing fashion on a pitch that is almost typical of the United Arab Emirates – an absolute road for the first few days, then turns into a spinning heaven.
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It hasn’t quite turned into that yet, but Day 4 and 5, even with the pink ball should become incredibly tough to bat on and given the West Indies haven’t quite passed the follow-on target yet, a draw is far from secure, but realistically should be the end result.
With Azhar Ali scoring the first triple century in day-night Test cricket over the first two days, guiding Pakistan to 3 for 579 off 155.3 overs, they are in an almost unbeatable position.
The West Indies got off to a disastrous start, slumping to 2 for 69 before Marlon Samuels (76) and Darren Bravo (87) got things ticking along in the right direction.
With some other useful contributions down the order, they have reached 6 for 315 at the end of Day 3 but still behind by 264 runs.
The fall of wickets has been all to regular though, with Yasir Shah the pick of the bowlers taking a pair of wickets and going for just 97 runs from 36 overs which has seriously built pressure.
Day 4 Prediction
The pitch is still playing well much to the surprise of most, and the pink ball hasn’t done much to change the course of the game at this point. It should bubble out to a draw. In saying that, the West Indies are six down and still need to clear the hurdle of the follow on for that to become a reality.
If the West Indies were to get knocked over then breaking this first partnership is crucial. If not then Pakistan will have to be flat out aggression.
The only result that doesn’t look possible though with two days to play is a victory for the tourists.
Be sure to join The Roar for live scores of Day 4 in this second ever day-night Test from 10:30pm (AEDT) and don’t forget to add a comment in the section below.
Follow Scott on Twitter @sk_pryde
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