Bridgetown, Barbados: West Indies fast bowler Shannon Gabriel plundered five wickets as they scored a stunning victory by bowling out Pakistan for 81 on the final day of the second Test in Barbados on Thursday.
Gabriel, bowling within himself with a focus on hitting line and length on a deteriorating pitch, took 5/11 as the tourists crumbled in their second innings against an impressive West Indies pace attack at Kensington Oval in Bridgetown.
Captain Jason Holder claimed three wickets, while Alzarri Joseph picked up the other two as the hosts won by 106 runs.
Pakistan’s second innings score matched the lowest Test total at Kensington Oval set by India 20 years ago. It was also their lowest score in the Caribbean and 10th lowest anywhere.
The series, tied at 1-1, moves to Dominica for the deciding Test starting on Wednesday, where West Indies will have a spring in their step after their first home Test victory in two years.
“I think I was trying too hard and trying to bowl too fast (in the first innings), so I just made the decision to stay calm in the second innings,” man-of-the-match Gabriel said.
Pakistan captain Misbah-ul Haq lamented having to bat last but also heaped praise on the West Indies bowlers. “You can easily say that it’s about batting on a day-five pitch. We all knew from the first day that it was going to get worse, so that was the difference,” he said.
Brief scores: West Indies 312 & 268 bt Pakistan 393 & 81 (Sarfaraz Ahmed 23, Shannon Gabriel 5/11, Jason Holder 3/23).
