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.
Lowest eight-wicket first-innings scores converted to a Test win
| Situation | Scores | Margin | Venue | Season |
| 29-8 | England 45 and 184, Australia 119 and 97 | 13 runs | Sydney | 1886-87 |
| 53-8 | Australia 63 and 122, England 101 and 77 | 7 runs | The Oval | 1882 |
| 54-8 | West Indies 163 and 244, Pakistan 154 and 133 | 120 runs | Multan | 2024-25 |
| 58-8 | England 85 and 303, Ireland 207 and 38 | 143 runs | Lord’s | 2019 |
| 63-8 | England 76 and 162, South Africa 110 and 75 | 53 runs | Leeds | 1907 |
- Across matches where fall-of-wicket details are available, the corresponding record in women’s Test cricket is 70-8. At Adelaide in 1984-85, England recovered to post 91 and 296, and bowled out Australia for 262 and 120 to win by five runs.
