West Indies Reels for 163 after Noman’s hat-trick, and Motie Fights with a Fifty

It was the first time a Pakistani spinner had ever achieved a hat-trick in Test cricket, and Noman Ali did just that. Pakistan wiped out the West Indies for just 163 runs in a single session, demonstrating their superiority on yet another track that favoured spin. A total of nine of the ten wickets that fell were taken by spinners, with debutant fast bowler Kashif Ali taking the first wicket of the day. The left-arm spinner got six wickets. The bottom order showed considerable tenacity despite the West Indies’ modest total, particularly spearheaded by Gudakesh Motie’s 55 runs, which enabled the team to rally from a hazardous 54 for 8 position to a more respectable final score.

By winning the toss and getting to bat first, the West Indies accomplished their morning goal. But when Pakistan gained momentum in the second over thanks to a shot from Mikyle Louis to Mohammad Rizwan, they soon found themselves in trouble. Five balls later, debutant Amir Jangoo was leg before wicket by Sajid Khan, putting Pakistan on the winning track.

In their brief partnership, Kraigg Brathwaite and Kavem Hodge were able to repel the spinners and initially withstand the fast bowler. But after this collaboration ended, everything quickly went south. The West Indies fell from 32 for 2 to 38 for 7, losing five wickets in just 13 deliveries.

Noman used a range of deliveries to reach his hat-trick early in the 12th over. Tevin Imlach missed a sweep against a straight delivery, while Justin Greaves was removed after edging a ball with extra bounce. Noman delivered the hat-trick ball with speed and got some turn off the pitch as almost every player was huddled around the bat. This was too difficult for Kevin Sinclair’s tentative effort, and Noman completed his hat-trick.

What transpired in the last hour before lunch demonstrated that while the pitch was quite conducive to spin bowling, it was not completely unmanageable. When the ninth, tenth, and eleventh positions combined to score the most runs for a team in one innings during the previous Test, the lower-order batsmen of the West Indies created history. They repeated this incredible feat in the current match.

Prior to Noman taking his fifth wicket due to a miscalculated sweep by the fast bowler, Roach and Motie shared a partnership of 41 runs for the ninth wicket. However, Warrican and Motie came together to make yet another important contribution.

Their strategy was similar to a good-cop, bad-cop dynamic, with Warrican attacking from the other end while Motie successfully defended against the spinners. As their collaboration progressed, the lunch break was prolonged. To everyone’s surprise, they exceeded the previous total of 137, giving the West Indies their highest series score to date.

Motie reached his own half-century after Warrican’s strong shot down the ground signalled the completion of a 50-run partnership. Motie’s off-stump was dislodged just before lunchtime when he was hit by a slog-sweep off Noman. As a result, a session that began with Pakistan’s overwhelming dominance ended on a more even one.

With a strong ground-ball strike from Warrican, a 50-run partnership was formed, and Motie went on to reach his own half-century. Only a few minutes before lunchtime did Motie lose his off-stump to a slog-sweep off Noman. As a result, a session that began with Pakistan’s obvious domination ended on a more balanced tone.

Even with this pitch, the West Indies relied on Roach, a quick bowler they trusted, and he proved himself during the opening hour. He made good use of the new ball, making it move both off the seam and in the air, which encouraged Hurraira to come forward. He then hit him on the front pad with a seamed-in delivery, taking the first wicket.

Within 14 balls, the first three wickets were taken. When trying to slice the ball off the back foot, Babar Azam was tricked by Motie’s lack of bounce, and he missed, allowing the ball to hit the off stump.