Misbah, Younis to represent Pakistan one last time

After a remarkable comeback by the host West Indies in the 2nd Test against Pakistan, both teams are now set to face each other in the series decider starting today (Wednesday).

Windsor Park will host only the fifth Test in its history and will be the stage on which the West Indies will seek to prove that their win in Barbados was no fluke.

For the Green-shirts the last result was down to yet another final day collapse and would have brought back the ghosts of their spectacular implosion at the MCG against Australia, earlier this year.

For the hosts Shannon Gabriel personified the West Indies recovery as he had a shocking start to the Test bowling 6 no-balls in a day before recovering to put in a match winning performance claiming 5/11 in the second innings.

The West Indies batting still looks reliant on lower-order heroics i.e. Roston Chase whose second Test century kept the West Indies in the game, but the same cannot be said for Pakistan who sport some world class batting talents in Babar Azam and veterans Younis Khan and Misbah-ul-Haq but need to find a way to prevent another batting collapse.

Pakistan’s bowlers have proven difficult to handle for the West Indies but it will be intriguing to see if leg-spinner Shadab Khan gets another run after an underwhelming Test debut.

Last but not the least, this will be the big farewell for two legends of the game as Misbah and Younis will seek to achieve their first series win in the Caribbean. Meanwhile, the West Indies too will not want to role over this chance to claim their first series win over an established nation since 2005, with their last two series victories coming against Bangladesh.

Squads

West Indies: Jason Holder (capt), Devendra Bishoo, Jermaine Blackwood, Kraigg Brathwaite, Roston Chase, Miguel Cummins, Shane Dowrich (wk), Shannon Gabriel, Shimron Hetmyer, Shai Hope, Alzarri Joseph, Kieran Powell, Vishaul Singh.

Pakistan: Misbah-ul-Haq (c), Ahmed Shehzad, Azhar Ali, Shan Masood, Babar Azam, Younis Khan, Asad Shafiq, Sarfraz Ahmed (w), Usman Salahuddin, Yasir Shah, Shadab Khan, Mohammad Asghar, Mohammad Amir, Wahab Riaz, Hasan Ali, Mohammad Abbas.