MULTAN: Skipper Shan Masood defended Pakistan’s formula of using spin-friendly pitches to win home Test matches after a 127-run victory over the West Indies in Multan on Sunday.
Pakistan completed the win before tea on the third day as spinners Sajid Khan grabbed 5-50 and Abrar Ahmed finished with 4-27 to dismiss the West Indies for 123 after setting a 251-run target.
The Test lasted fewer than eight sessions on a dry and grassless Multan Stadium pitch, with spinners taking 34 of the 40 wickets to fall.
Sajid finished with nine wickets, fellow spinner Noman Ali six and the West Indian left-armer Jomel Warrican took a maiden 10-wicket haul.
Pakistan bowled just one over of pace in the match.
“If we want to be a top side in the World Test Championship then we have to sacrifice some things, like we did with the fast bowling in this Test,” Masood said.
Pakistan made drastic changes after going winless in 11 home Tests since 2021, using industrial fans and patio heaters to dry the Multan pitch against England last year.
Sajid and Noman took 39 of the 40 wickets to give Pakistan a come-from-behind 2-1 series win against England, repeating the same ploy against the West Indies.
Masood’s captain counterpart Kraigg Brathwaite had no issue with it.
They will play the second Test from January 25 at the same venue.
“They’re at home so they got their decision how they want the pitch to behave,” said Brathwaite.
“It was a difficult pitch to bat on for sure.
“We expect the same type of pitch in the second Test so we got to come better with bravery and belief.”
Left-hander Alick Athanaze hit the only half-century for the tourists in the match with 55, an innings Brathwaite wants his batters to learn from.
“He swept it on both sides so we just have to be brave,” said Brathwaite.
“We have got one more Test and we have to believe in ourselves.”
Masood defends Pakistan’s spin-spiced formula after West Indies win
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Masood defends Pakistan’s spin-spiced formula after West Indies win
- Pakistan completed the win before tea on the third day as spinners Sajid Khan grabbed 5-50 and Abrar Ahmed finished with 4-27
- The Test lasted fewer than eight sessions on a dry, grassless Multan Stadium pitch, with spinners taking 34 of 40 wickets to fall
Pakistanis among 44 migrants rescued by aid ship off Libyan coast
- Survivors rescued after days at sea on unseaworthy boat in international waters
- Pakistanis have featured in several deadly Mediterranean migrant disasters in recent years
Crew members of the humanitarian rescue ship Ocean Viking evacuated and provided first aid to 44 migrants stranded aboard a merchant vessel in international waters off the Libyan coast, the NGO SOS Mediterranee said on Monday.
The group, originating mainly from Bangladesh, Pakistan and Egypt, had been rescued earlier from an unseaworthy fiberglass boat and later transferred to the merchant ship before the Ocean Viking intervened, according to the organization.
Libya, about 300 kilometers from Italy, remains one of the main departure points in North Africa for migrants attempting the dangerous Mediterranean crossing, despite repeated warnings from humanitarian agencies about abuse, exploitation and high fatality rates along the route.
Migrants often depart Libya after months in detention centers or informal holding sites, boarding overcrowded and unsafe vessels operated by smuggling networks. Delays in rescue frequently leave survivors severely weakened, aid groups say.
“These 44 people, they are mainly from Bangladesh, Pakistan, and Egypt. They departed reportedly from Benghazi (Libya) some five or six days ago. And they are now safe on board the Ocean Viking, recovering,” Francesco Creazzo, spokesperson for SOS Mediterranee, said.
Creazzo said the migrants were found in severe physical distress when evacuated.
“They were exhausted, coughing of dehydration, extremely weak, some couldn’t walk,” he added.
The Ocean Viking, an ambulance ship operated by SOS Mediterranee, regularly conducts search-and-rescue missions in the central Mediterranean, one of the world’s deadliest migration routes. According to international organizations, thousands of people have died or gone missing in the Mediterranean over the past decade while attempting to reach Europe.
The latest rescue comes amid a series of deadly migrant disasters in the Mediterranean in recent years that have involved Pakistani nationals. In June 2023, at least several hundred migrants died when the Adriana, a fishing trawler carrying migrants from Pakistan and other countries, capsized off the coast of Greece in one of the deadliest maritime disasters in the region in a decade.
Earlier incidents have also seen Pakistani migrants perish in shipwrecks off Italy, Tunisia and Libya, highlighting the persistent risks faced by people attempting irregular sea crossings to Europe. Pakistani authorities have repeatedly urged citizens not to undertake the journey, while international agencies warn that smugglers continue to exploit economic hardship and conflict to lure migrants onto unsafe boats.
