Warrican finished with a match haul of 9 for 70 as West Indies levelled the series with a 120-run win

Danyal Rasool27-Jan-2025

Jomel Warrican ran through Pakistan on the third morning•PCB

Jomel Warrican and the rest of West Indies’ spin cast hoisted Pakistan with their own petard, spinning a web around Pakistan’s batters to skittle them out for 133, securing a first win on Pakistan soil since 1990. It took West Indies little over an hour on day three to slice through Pakistan’s last six wickets, a 39-run partnership between Mohammad Rizwan and Salman Agha the only one that put up any resistance as West Indies secured a 120-run win that levelled the series.The signs were immediately ominous for Pakistan when, three balls into the day, Saud Shakeel was drawn into playing at one from Kevin Sinclair that ripped away, taking the outside edge to first slip. Nightwatcher Kashif Ali was dispatched the following over, Warrican forcing the ball through his pads as West Indies began to smell blood.Rizwan and Agha kept the bowlers at bay for a while, hunkering down and trying to ride out this West Indies wave. With Kemar Roach injured, West Indies continued chipping away with their trio of spinners. Rizwan put away the odd delivery when they missed their lines, but this was becoming increasingly rare and Pakistan continued to feel asphyxiated.For 12 overs, the seventh-wicket pair held out, but Warrican got one to keep low as Agha defended. It rapped him on the back pad adjacent to the stumps, and the visitors had the breakthrough that exposed the tail.Soon after, it was Warrican again who dispensed with Rizwan, who played all around a delivery that carried on with the arm and went through the bat-pad gap to make a mess of his stumps. By now, only the formalities remained.Noman Ali fell to Gudakesh Motie, but, fittingly it was Warrican who had the last laugh. Sajid Khan dragged one onto his stumps to seal another five-wicket haul that took Warrican’s series tally to 19. As West Indies squealed with delight, Warrican looked Sajid square in the eye and performed his now famous thigh-thumping celebration. It was an apt metaphor for West Indies giving Pakistan a taste of their own medicine.