Jayden Seales five wickets in the second innings and a crucial partnership of 17 for the final wicket with Kemar Roach helped West Indies beat Pakistan by one wicket in a thrilling encounter at Jamaica.
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At the age of 19 years of 338 days, Jayden Seales had already created history on the fourth day of the Jamaica Test between the West Indies and Pakistan. He took 5/55 to become the youngest West Indies bowler to take a five-wicket haul. His burst had given West Indies the opening to clinch a win. Little did Seales know that he would have to contribute with the bat also. Chasing 168 for the win, West Indies were reduced to 151/9 but Seales, along with a determined effort from Kemar Roach shared a 17-run stand for the final wicket. Seales gave Roach excellent support as West Indies registered a one-wicket win to go 1-0 up in the two-Test series.
This was the third time in the last 22 years that West Indies registered a one-wicket win in Test matches. In 1999, Brian Lara’s brilliance was on display as he smashed 153 and helped West Indies win by one wicket against Australia in Antigua. One year later, against Pakistan at the same venue, Jimmy Adams hit 48 without hitting a single boundary. West Indies won by one wicket to win the series 1-0.
Heading into day 4, Pakistan had the edge thanks to Babar Azam’s brilliant fifty. Babar Azam and Faheem Ashraf looked to have steadied Pakistan and put them on course for a big total. But, Kemar Roach got the wicket of Faheem with Joshua Da Silva taking a brilliant one-handed catch to his left. But, West Indies got the massive wicket of Babar Azam, who could add only one more run to his overnight score.
Kyla Mayers got the delivery to jump up and Babar was squared up. The edge flew to Jason Holder at slip who took the catch and put Pakistan under immense pressure. Jayden Seales then came on and took the wickets of Yasir Shah and Shaheen Afridi cheaply. But, Hasan Ali hit a four and six off Mayers and Roach to push the lead past 150. Hasan Ali got Pakistan over 200 but Seales got his historic five-wicket haul as West Indies bowled Pakistan out for 203, giving the hosts a target of 168.
Windies made a disastrous start with Shaheen Afridi ripping through the top order. Kraigg Brathwaite, Kieran Powell and Nkrumah Bonner all fell play to a hostile opening spell by Shaheen as West Indies were reduced to 16/3.
Roston Chase and Jermaine Blackwood steadied the West Indies innings. Chase and Blackwood saw out the new ball and hit a couple of boundaries to calm the nerves. Blackwood was in fine form as he looked aggressive as he found the fence on a regular basis. While Chase played the sheet anchor role, Blackwood was chipping away at the target. In the 21st over, there was a missed opportunity from Pakistan. Blackwood hit two fours off Hasan Ali but Pakistan missed the chance to get his wicket.
The batsman seemed to have edged the ball but there was no appeal from Pakistan. UltraEdge spotted a spike but remarkably, Pakistan did not appeal and the review was also not taken. The partnership between Chase and Blackwood went past 50 and Blackwood neared his half-century. But, after the drinks break, Chase was dismissed by Faheem for 22 as he edged a back-of-length delivery to Imran Butt at second slip. Blackwood notched up his fifty with two fours off Yasir Shah but Kyle Mayers fell to Faheem for 0.
Jason Holder hit three boundaries off Mohammad Abbas as West Indies needed just 61 runs to win. But, Pakistan got the big wicket of Blackwood with Hasan Ali getting the batsman to edge to Imran Butt who took his third catch at slip. Hasan got the big wicket of Jason Holder for 16 who had lost his momentum. West Indies needed 54 runs with only three wickets remaining.
Kemar Roach and Joshua Da Silva calmly rotated the strike, with Roach finding a couple of edges past the slip cordon for a boundary. Shaheen got his fourth wicket with Joshua Da Silva edging a length ball angled across to Mohammad Rizwan. Jomel Warrican got a fortunate boundary and Pakistan did not help themselves when Roach was dropped by Hasan Ali ff Shaheen. Hasan Ali made amends when he dismissed Warrican for his third wicket.
With 17 runs needed for West Indies and Pakistan needing one wicket, the game was poised on a knife-edge. Pakistan’s bowlers were beating the edge but both West Indies players hung in. Roach and Seales got the target down to under 10 runs as Pakistan became desperate. Roach got another outside edge which flew to the boundary and West Indies needed two runs for the win. In a short while, West Indies got over the line. Roach drove a full ball to cover for a couple and West Indies had secured one of the best wins in their recent times.
Seales was named the Man of the Match for his efforts. During the presentation, he highlighted the conversation they had during the thrilling run-chase. “Words can’t describe how I feel after the five-wicket haul. I’m just thankful to the almighty. In the partnership with Roach, we talked about positivity and patience, just waiting, and eventually we got there. Test cricket has been a dream, and getting five today. It really goes to the bowling coach who backed me to be successful at this level. All the bowlers keep telling me to keep going hard at the batsmen, hitting the lengths, and wickets will come,” Seales said.
The final Test will also be played at Sabina Park in Jamaica on August 20. This series is part of the ICC World Test Championship.
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