Dharuba: As rain and poor light repeatedly hampered play on the opening day of the first Test at the Brian Lara Cricket Academy on Saturday, Gavem Hodge stun Pakistan with a convincing half-century.
Resuming the last session at 127-3 after 43 overs, West Indies continued their recovery ahead of poor weather and dim light. The hosts ended the day on 194-3 in 67 overs.
Gavem Hodge and Shai Hope led West Indies’ fightback as they put on a 50-run partnership for the fourth wicket, both of them taking the team’s total past 150.
However, the final session was once again interrupted as the light faded and players and officials were pushed off the field. The Pakistani players waited for some time before returning to the pavilion followed by Hodge and Hope.
A few minutes later, the umpires officially called off play for the day. Hodge continued on day two with an unbeaten 83 off 181 balls with 9 fours, while Hope made 39 not out off 91 balls with 2 fours.
Earlier, after electing to bat first, West Indies were put under early pressure by Pakistan’s disciplined bowling attack, with openers Brandon King and Dagenerine Chanderpal struggling to score freely during their opening stand of 13 runs.
In the second ball of the ninth over, King clipped a wide delivery onto his stumps and was out for 12 off 29 balls, including a solitary boundary.
Following King’s dismissal, Hodge joined Chanderpal at the crease, but the pair struggled to get runs across, adding just 10 runs from 35 balls for the second wicket before rain interrupted.
The second session resumed after rain forced lunch with the West Indies at 23-1 in 14.1 overs. Hodge patiently finished the innings off the ball and scored his fourth Test half-century.
Chanderpal and Hodge added 51 runs for the second wicket, steadily restoring the innings with the strike rotation and scoreboard ticking.
However, Amir Jamal dismissed Chanderpaul for 21 off 77 balls, including a boundary, to reduce West Indies to 64-2 in the 26th over.
Amir Jangoo then came to the crease and struck fluently as the pair got valuable support from Hodge as the pair crossed the 100-run mark.
Abbas again claimed his second wicket, 21 runs off 32 balls with two fours and a six.
The second session ended after the 43rd over and Abbas bowled the final over before the break. West Indies were 127-3 with Hodge unbeaten on 56 off 100 balls and Hope unbeaten on 11 off 25 balls.
The pair carried their momentum into the final session, frustrating the Pakistani bowlers with decent batting before rain and poor light.