West Indies recovered from 54-8 to beat Pakistan by 120 runs at Multan to pull off one of the greatest turnarounds in the history of Test cricket.
Noman Ali (6-41) completed a hat-trick on the first day of the second Test, at Multan, to leave the West Indies reeling at a hopeless 54-8. However, the last three visiting batters – Gudakesh Motie (55), Kemar Roach (25), and Jomel Warrican (36 not out) dragged the score to 163.
Warrican then claimed 4-43, Motie 3-49, and Roach 2-15 to secure a nine-run lead – all before stumps were called on the first day. The West Indies struggled again in the second innings, against Noman (4-76) and Sajid Khan (4-80), but yet again they recovered to 244. Set to chase 254, Pakistan collapsed to 133 against Warrican (5-27), Kevin Sinclair (3-61), and Motie (2-35).
Test victories after poor starts
Of all teams that have won men’s Test matches after batting first, the West Indies’s 54 is the third-lowest score at which a side lost their eighth wicket in the first innings. It is also the lowest since 1886-87.
The two entries above the West Indies’s 54-8 both came in the 1880s, and turned out to be cliffhangers. Australia’s famous win in the second entry on the list, the Oval Test of 1882, inspired a mock obituary to English cricket that turned out to be the inspiration behind the Ashes, the longest-running rivalry in Test cricket.
The West Indies, on the other hand, won a rather one-sided contest, by 120 runs.
