West Indies skipper Kraigg Brathwaite won the toss and decided to bat against Pakistan on the opening day of the second Test in Multan on Saturday.
Pakistan, who lead the two-match series 1-0 after winning the first Test also in Multan by 127 runs, handed a debut to 30-year-old fast bowler Kashif Ali in place of Khurram Shahzad.
The West Indies were forced to leave out injured Jayden Seales, making room for experienced pacer Kemar Roach. Amir Jangoo will be playing his first Test after replacing Keacy Carty.
The series is part of the World Test Championship’s third cycle with Pakistan ranking eighth and the West Indies ninth and last.
A day ago, head coach Aaqib Javed brushed aside criticism of Pakistan’s reliance on spin bowling as they seek a clean sweep against the West Indies.
Aaqib, a pacer from an era dominated by great pacemen Wasim Akram and Waqar Younis, insisted the spin assault would continue.
“We found that the West Indies have a weakness in dealing with the spin bowling, so we exploited that and will do that again,” Aaqib told a news conference on Friday.
West Indies’ Brathwaite had no qualms about Pakistan’s tactics.
“Pakistan are playing at home and if they believe spinning pitches are their strength then that’s fine and that’s how cricket is played,” Brathwaite said. “I have played on pitches which took turn from day one but not like this, which had cracks from day one,” he said.
Teams:
Pakistan: Shan Masood (captain), Muhammad Hurraira, Babar Azam, Kamran Ghulam, Saud Shakeel, Mohammad Rizwan, Salman Agha, Noman Ali, Sajid Khan, Kashif Ali, Abrar Ahmed
West Indies: Kraigg Brathwaite (captain), Alick Athanaze, Justin Greaves, Kavem Hodge, Tevin Imlach, Amir Jangoo, Mikyle Louis, Gudakesh Motie, Kevin Sinclair, Kemar Roach, Jomel Warrican
Umpires: Rodney Tucker (AUS) and Paul Reiffel (AUS)
TV umpire: Richard Kettleborough (ENG)
Match referee: Ranjan Madugalle (SRI)
