Test peters to tame draw

Test peters to tame draw
ADRIEL RICHARD

BRIDGETOWN, MAY 23: A day which dawned with such prospects for exciting cricket delivered very little in the end when West Indies and Pakistan played to a draw in the second Test at Kensington Oval on Monday here.

Pakistan's cautious batting in the morning period and their decision to declare their second innings at 419 for nine about ten minutes after lunch effectively killed any prospects of an exciting finish to the match. Though West Indies made the heart skip a beat when they declined to 41 for three prior to tea, Man-of-the-Match Wavell Hinds, 52, and captain Jimmy Adams, 34 not out, restored sanity with a 72-run fourth-wicket stand to help West Indies to safety at 132 for four at the end.

Many people would have expected Pakistan to have taken an astutely cavalier approach to their batting in the hope of giving West Indies a challenging victory target. They however, decided that discretion was the better part of valour and batted their opponents out of the match.

Overnight 345 for seven, Abdur Razzaq and Saqlain Mushtaq defied the West Indies bowlers to carry Pakistan to 407 for seven at lunch. Abdur and Saqlain could only raise 18 runs from 16 overs in the first hour on Monday, but took a few more chances in the second hour when they gathered 44 from 13 overs and Abdur was able to complete his second half-century in as many matches in the series.

Neither side appeared to want to give anything away. Though Pakistan batted slowly, the West Indies did not bowl with the kind of heart that could have or might have made the difference and Abdur and Saqlain defended stoutly. Abdur, who batted with a runner for most of his innings because of a thigh strain, was eventually caught trying to clear the long-on boundary to become the last of fast bowler Reon King's four wickets in the third over after lunch.

Scoreboard

Pakistan (1st innings): 253

West Indies (1st innings): 398

Pakistan (2nd innings; overnight 345-7): Mohd Wasim lbw King 82, Imran Nazir c Adams b King 131, Younis Khan c Jacobs b King 23, Inzamam-ul-Haq c&b Walsh 29, Yousuf Youhana c Adams b McLean 19, Abdur Razzaq c sub (Gayle) b King 72, Moin Khan b Adams 14, Wasim Akram c Hinds b Adams 0, Saqlain Mushtaq b McLean 33, Waqar Younis not out 1; Extras: (nb10, w1, lb4) 15. Total: (for nine wkts declared off 159 overs) 419

Fall of wickets: 1-219, 2-232, 3-248, 4-294, 5-294, 6-341, 7-341, 8-411, 9-419

Bowling: Ambrose 37-16-54-0, Walsh 36-6-102-1 (1nb), McLean 29-9-112-2 (8nb), Adams 26-9-52-2, Chanderpaul 2-0-13-0 (1W), King 29-9-82-4 West Indies (2nd innings): Sherwin Campbell c sub (Afridi) b Akram 8, Adrian Griffith lbw Waqar 5, Wavell Hinds c Moin b Mushtaq 52, Shivnarine Chanderpaul c Md Wasim b Mushtaq 16, Jimmy Adams not out 34, Ramnaresh Sarwan not out 11; Extras: (b1, lb1, nb4) 6. Total: (for four wkts; 52 overs) 132

Fall of wickets: 1-15, 2-15, 3-41, 4-113

Bowling: Wasim Akram 7-1-24-1, Waqar Younis 4-0-14-1, Saqlain Mushtaq 21-12-28-0, Mushtaq Ahmed 20-5-64-2.