Pak vs WI: We will try to dismiss West Indies as early as possible, says Fawad Alam

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Fawad Alam speaks to media at stumps on Day 1 of the Pakistan vs West Indies Test match.
Fawad Alam speaks to media at stumps on Day 1 of the Pakistan vs West Indies Test match. 

  • "Insha'Allah will try to win tomorrow's day the same way we won today," says Fawad Alam. 
  • Faheem Ashraf says he will try to support bowlers by bowling well against West Indies. 
  • Mohammad Abbas put West Indies on the back foot by taking two wickets in successive deliveries.


Pakistan will try to dismiss the West Indies as early as possible so that it can lead with a respectable margin and extend that lead in its second innings, said left-handed batsman Fawad Alam on Friday. 

"Insha'Allah we will try to win tomorrow's day [against the West Indies] in the same way we won today," he said. 

Fawad Alam said conditions in West Indies are a bit difficult and that batting on the pitch was an onerous task. He said the ball moved a lot, troubling batsmen. 

"We knew our lower batting line up has depth so the more we stay on the pitch, the more chance we would have to score more than 200 runs," he said. 

Speaking about their partnership on Day 1, all-rounder Faheem Ashraf said both he and Fawad Alam tried to add as many runs to Pakistan's total as they could. 

"We can't say or do anything about our first innings now," he said. "I will now try to support our bowlers and help out my teammates, as a bowler," he added. 

West Indies on the back foot

Two wickets in two balls by Mohammad Abbas just before the close of play put the West Indies immediately on the back foot in reply to Pakistan's first innings total of 217 on the rain-affected opening day of the first Test at Sabina Park on Thursday.

At 2-2 going into the second day, with captain Kraigg Brathwaite and Roston Chase set to resume the innings, the home side will be mindful of the repeated batting capitulations they endured in being thrashed in a similar two-Test duel with South Africa two months earlier in St Lucia.

Abbas put the seal on a bowlers' day by having Kieran Powell well taken low at second slip and then trapping Nkrumah Bonner leg before next ball in a testing final 20 minutes of play.

It was Bonner's first Test innings since his brief appearance on the opening day of the South Africa series when he was forced to retire hurt after being struck flush on the helmet first ball by fast bowler Anrich Nortje.

Like Abbas, the West Indies fast bowlers justified their skipper's decision to bowl first with former leader Jason Holder and young pacer Jayden Seales taking three wickets each.

Kemar Roach lifted his tally of Test wickets to 225 in his 66th match by removing Imran Butt after half-an-hour's play and then added the important wicket of Pakistan captain Babar Azam.

Babar and former skipper Azhar Ali put on 47 for the third wicket with Azhar capturing much of the attention in the afternoon session for a bizarre succession of reprieves via referrals to the television technology with four consecutive decisions going the way of the batsman.

However it was the combined effort of left-handers Fawad Alam (56) and Faheem Ashraf (44) which gave the innings some substance.

The pair put on 85 for the sixth wicket only to be separated by a run out when Ashraf was found short of his ground by square-leg fielder Chase when seeking to complete a sharp single.