SHARJAH, United Arab Emirates, Oct 7, CMC – Leg-spinner Devendra Bishoo warmed up for next week’s first Test against Pakistan with a three-wicket haul but Iftikhar Ahmed led a trio of batsmen with half-centuries as the Pakistan Cricket Board Patron’s XI got the better of the exchanges on the opening day of the three-day tour match here yesterday.
Opting to bat first in the day/night contest, the hosts batted all three sessions at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium to finish on 241 for five with Iftikhar top-scoring with 63, Shan Masood getting 58 and Ahmed Shehzad scoring 52.
The Windies tasted early success when fast bowler Miguel Cummins plucked out Mohammad Hafeez with the first ball of the afternoon’s third over, without a single run on the board.
However, opener Masood and Shehzad came together to repair the innings in a second wicket stand of 101 – the first of three successive productive partnerships that denied West Indies any abundance of success.
Masood, who played the last of his nine Tests last July, struck three fours and two sixes in an innings spanning 191 deliveries and just under 4-1/4 hours.
Shehzad, meanwhile, faced 130 balls in three hours at the crease, and counted four fours and a six, before becoming Bishoo’s first wicket.
Masood then added a further 43 for the third wicket with Iftikhar before falling to Bishoo with the score on 143 for three.
Any hopes of making deep inroads into the Patron’s XI batting were thwarted by the right-handed Iftikhar who anchored a 63-run fourth wicket stand with captain Fawad Alam who made 32.
The 26-year-old, who made his Test debut against England last August, faced 103 deliveries in 2-1/4 hours at the crease and stroked six fours and two sixes while Fawad struck three fours in his 52-ball knock.
Both fell to Bishoo four balls apart in the same over with one run added but yet again, the Patron’s XI ensured there was no collapse as wicketkeeper Adnan Akmal, who was unbeaten on 26, and Asif Zakir (9 not out) put on 34 in an unbroken sixth wicket stand.
SCOREBOARD
PCB PATRON’S XI 1st Innings
Muhammad Hafeez c Joseph b Cummins 0
Shan Masood run out 58
Ahmed Shehzad c DM Bravo b Bishoo 52
Ifthikar Ahmed c C Brathwaite b Bishoo 63
Fawad Alam c Blackwood b Bishoo 32
Asif Zakir not out 9
+Adnan Akmal not out 26
Extras (w1) 1
TOTAL (5 wkts, 90 overs) 241
To bat: Junaid Khan, Imran Khan, Ahmed Jamal, Shahzaib Ahmed.
Fall of wickets: 1-0, 2-101, 3-143, 4-206, 5-207.
Bowling: Cummins 15-5-36-1, Joseph 3-1-4-0 (w1), Holder 14-3-31-0, Bishoo 29-6-77-3, Chase 17-2-59-0, K Brathwaite 12-1-34-0.
WEST INDIES – Jason Holder (captain), Darren Bravo, Jermaine Blackwood, Kraigg Brathwaite, Leon Johnson, Roston Chase, Shai Hope, Shane Dowrich, Alzarri Joseph, Devendra Bishoo, Miguel Cummins.
Toss: PCB Patron’s XI.
Umpires: Ahsan Raza, Shozab Raza
