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Hafeez snares Bravo to leave West Indies wobbling

BASSETERRE : Part time off spinner Mohammad Hafeez continued to be a thorn in the West Indies' side, grabbing the wicket
Published May 22, 2011

HafeezBASSETERRE: Part time off spinner Mohammad Hafeez continued to be a thorn in the West Indies' side, grabbing the wicket of Darren Bravo to tighten Pakistan's grip and leave the hosts wobbling on 94 for four in their first innings at tea in the second Test on Saturday.

The new ball pair of Wahab Riaz and Tanvir Ahmed had set back West Indies early, when they removed openers Lendl Simmons and Kraigg Brathwaite cheaply.

And off-spinner Saeed Ajmal snared the prized scalp of Ramnaresh Sarwan for 20, as the home team started their reply to Pakistan's respectable first innings total of 272 on the second day at Warner Park.

But the Pakistanis faced resistance when Bravo batted through the last hour before the break with Marlon Samuels, not out on 21, to stem the slide.

Hafeez, probably delivering the final over before the break, drew Bravo onto the front foot, got him to edge a sharply turning delivery, and had the left-hander caught at second slip for the West Indies top score so far of 24.

This followed a maiden Test half-century from Tanvir, who frustrated West Indies with Ajmal for close to two hours, as Pakistan were dismissed shortly before lunch.

Tanvir led a late recovery for the Pakistanis with 57 and Ajmal was not out on 23, establishing a new ground record of 78 for the last wicket.

Ravi Rampaul was the pick of the West Indies bowlers with three for 68 from 26 overs, leg-spinner Devendra Bishoo captured three for 80 from 32.5 overs, and West Indies captain Darren Sammy took two for 70 from 28 overs.

Tanvir then continued his memorable day, with the scalp of Lendl Simmon caught at second slip for a duck, edging a flat-footed drive at the second delivery of the innings.

A loose delivery from Wahab provided teenaged West Indies newcomer Kraigg Brathwaite with the chance to get off the mark in Tests, with a square drive through backward point for four.

But the Pakistan left-arm fast bowler got his revenge, when Brathwaite edged a loose drive at a delivery angled across him, and was caught at second slip for 15, leaving West Indies 22 for two.

Wahab continued to provide fodder for the West Indies batsmen, and Sarwan got into stride, when he collected three boundaries off his fourth over, pulling the first legitimate ball through mid-wicket, smoothly driving the third delivery through cover, and hooking the next ball behind square leg.

Ajmal, Pakistan's bowling hero in the first Test with a career-best 11 wickets, slowed Sarwan down, and then had him stumped, when the West Indies batsman moved down the pitch, edged the ball into his pads, and failed to maintain his balance.

Earlier, Tanvir and Ajmal defied the West Indies' decision to take the second new ball, mixing occasional strokes of adventure with resolute batting, after their side slumped to 194 for nine inside the first hour.

Tanvir reached his 50 from 93 balls, when he edged a delivery outside the off-stump from Ravi Rampaul wide of slip, and into the third-man boundary for his ninth four.

But he was dismissed when he played back and across to a leg-break from Devendra Bishoo, and was adjudged lbw, a decision he unsuccessfully had reviewed.

The visitors trail 0-1 in the two-Test series, following a 40-run defeat inside four days in the first Test, which ended last Sunday at the Guyana National Stadium, crushing their dreams of a maiden Test series victory in the Caribbean.

Copyright AFP (Agence France-Presse), 2011Copyright APP (Associated Press of Pakistan), 2011

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