Seales’ five-for completes heroic West Indies fightback against Pakistan

What began as a precarious fourth day for the West Indies ended in spectacular fashion.

Jayden Seales ripped through Pakistan’s lower order to claim his fourth five-wicket haul in Test cricket, completing a remarkable 90-run victory for the West Indies in the opening Test at the Brian Lara Cricket Academy in Tarouba, San Fernando, on Tuesday.

With the match repeatedly shifting direction across four days, the West Indies appeared to have surrendered the advantage when they were dismissed for only 181 before lunch, leaving Pakistan a target of 211 with a day and a half still available.

Instead, the home side summoned a combination of discipline, aggression and nerve to dismiss Pakistan for 120 in just 40.2 overs.

Seales delivered the final blow, finishing with 5-20 from 14.2 outstanding overs as Pakistan suffered their eighth consecutive Test defeat away from home.

A lead built from the brink

The West Indies began the day at 126-7, their hopes of establishing a match-winning lead resting largely on the overnight partnership between Kemar Roach and Shamar Joseph.

The pair refused to surrender cheaply.

Roach and Joseph added another 28 runs, extending their partnership to 61 and pushing the West Indies closer to the psychological threshold of a 200-run lead.

Mohammad Ali eventually broke the resistance, bowling Joseph for 38.

But the tail continued to wag.

Roach, Jomel Warrican and Seales collectively squeezed another 27 runs from Pakistan’s attack, taking the overall lead beyond 200 before Mohammad Abbas finally ended the innings.

Abbas dismissed Roach and Warrican to finish with 5-22 from 15.5 overs, his seventh five-wicket haul in Tests. Mohammad Ali claimed 2-52 and Khurram Shahzad 2-54.

Pakistan had been handed a manageable target.

The West Indies were about to make it feel enormous.

Roach starts the collapse

Pakistan’s chase barely had time to settle before Roach struck.

In the third over, the veteran fast bowler produced a vicious delivery that kissed the gloves of Imam-ul-Haq and carried through to the wicketkeeper. With only five runs on the board, Pakistan had lost its first wicket.

Seales then joined the attack.

Azan Awais, already dismissed cheaply in the first innings, chased a wide half-volley and edged behind for his second failure of the match.

The pressure became suffocating.

In his next over, Seales trapped Salman Agha lbw for a duck, leaving Pakistan staggering at 25-3.

By lunch, the visitors had crawled to 28-3.

The West Indies were sensing something extraordinary.

Greaves strikes twice

Pakistan briefly appeared ready to fight back after the interval.

Mohammad Rizwan struck Seales for two boundaries, while captain Babar Azam showed positive intent by flicking Shamar Joseph through midwicket.

Then Justin Greaves, the hero of the first innings, entered the contest again.

It took him only two deliveries to make his mark.

Greaves bowled Rizwan for 11.

In his following over, he trapped Aamer Jamal lbw without scoring.

Pakistan had plunged to 50-5.

Three runs later, their predicament deepened.

Ali Usman attempted to drive a fullish Roach delivery but found Greaves at second slip, leaving Pakistan seven wickets down and the West Indies firmly in control.

Shan Masood’s dismissal breaks Pakistan’s resistance

Shan Masood represented perhaps Pakistan’s clearest remaining route to a recovery.

The first-innings centurion had moved down the order because of a finger injury, but his presence still carried considerable weight.

It lasted only briefly.

Masood made three before loosely driving Seales toward backward point, where Shamar Joseph completed the catch.

At 58-7, Pakistan’s hopes were rapidly disappearing.

Seales then sent Khurram Shahzad’s middle stump cartwheeling, before Shamar Joseph helped remove Mohammad Ali, caught at second slip by Greaves after attempting to waft at a delivery.

Pakistan had collapsed to 71-9.

The West Indies appeared moments away from victory.

Abbas and Babar refuse to surrender

Yet the final wicket proved remarkably stubborn.

Mohammad Abbas transformed the mood with an entertaining counterattack, striking four boundaries as he joined Babar Azam in an unlikely resistance.

The pair survived the remainder of the session and carried Pakistan to tea at 114-9.

Suddenly, the improbable had become conceivable.

Pakistan still needed 97 runs, but Babar remained at the crease and completed his 32nd Test half-century, while Abbas continued to swing freely.

Their ninth-wicket stand had reached 49 runs.

The West Indies needed one final breakthrough.

Seales was ready to provide it.

Seales delivers the finishing blow

After the interval, the decisive moment arrived.

Seales trapped Abbas lbw for 23 from 33 deliveries, ending the stubborn partnership and, with it, Pakistan’s last realistic hope of completing an extraordinary chase.

The final wicket triggered the West Indies’ celebrations.

Pakistan were all out for 120.

The West Indies had won by 90 runs.

For a team that had been bowled out for 181 earlier in the day, the victory was a remarkable demonstration of the value of pressure, patience and belief.

Greaves’ all-round impact completes the story

Seales’ five-wicket haul supplied the finishing flourish, but the victory was built on contributions throughout the lineup.

Greaves, whose seven wickets across the match earned him Player-of-the-Match honors, added another 2-12 in Pakistan’s second innings.

Roach finished with 2-27, complementing his crucial early breakthrough and his stubborn batting contribution earlier in the day.

The result also completed a memorable individual performance for Seales, whose 5-20 ensured that the final Pakistan wicket fittingly belonged to the Trinidadian pacer.

For four days, the contest had swung repeatedly between the two teams.

On the final afternoon, the West Indies seized control and refused to give it back.

A modest target became a mountain. Pakistan’s chase became a collapse. And a match that appeared to be slipping away from the home side ended with the West Indies celebrating one of their most dramatic Test victories in recent memory.