Test cricket thrives even when it’s context-less, senseless, and even meaningless. Let’s put it this way. Pakistan are hosting West Indies for a Test match after 18 years. Yet despite such a long wait, the occasion feels distant from historic. It’s an ordinary, anticlimactic game between two bottom-level teams in the World Test Championship table. Hardly a game that would capture the world’s attention. The timing is not very helpful either. The WTC finalists have already been decided, the ongoing myriads of franchise leagues have shortened the attention span of fans, and an ODI format multi-national tournament is just a few weeks away.
Yet context or no context, both teams will have a spinning Multan pitch to prove their worth, for whatever it is worth. The hosts will look to use the series to build up on the experiments they began with home pitches in the Test series against England in November. So far, it has worked out smoothly. But to solidify the strategy for future use, they will need to increase the sample size, of teams against who the strategy has successfully been used, to more than one.
Team Overview:
Pakistan’s squad had ‘incoming spin tracks’ written legibly on it. They have gone all out with their spin resources and added the spin trio to the playing XI for the first game. The returning Noman Ali and Sajid Khan will be joined by Abrar Ahmed, who will also be playing his first Test match after the England Test series. However, unlike the former two, he played the white-ball leg of the South Africa tour. Khurram Shehzad is the only pacer in the side, as Pakistan decided to get rid of every trace of pace, axing even Aamer Jamal, the side’s fast-bowling all-rounder. Another significant change is the addition of the uncapped Muhammad Hurraira, who will open with Shan Masood. Hurraira was added in place of Saim Ayub, who is currently recovering from an ankle injury.
Unlike Pakistan, West Indies have not announced their final eleven. And the questions that surround them, explain why. Currently, the visitors are at the bottom of the WTC table, and there is a reason for that. The team has struggled largely with their batting. Joshua de Silva, the team’s vice-captain (former) has been dropped following his struggles with form. In his place, wicketkeeper-batter Amir Jangoo was added to the squad and he looks likely to make his debut in the first Test. Kemar Roach will miss the game due to illness. But West Indies’ pace bowling is pretty stacked. Gudakesh Motie would be the visitors’ answer to all the spin talk thrown at them.
Head-to-Head Matches:
From 54 Test games that both sides have played against each other, Pakistan won 21 and West Indies bested 18. 15 matches ended in a draw.
Weather and Pitch Report:
It’s nearly the peak of winter in Multan, with absolutely no rain in sight. So not only will it be extremely cold, but also very foggy which could delay the start of the play. The surface is said to be getting transformed to a rank-turner, or something that resembles it, at least. When not getting influenced by industrial-sized heaters and thrown-together greenhouses, Multan’s pitch shows slow degradation and an inclination toward supporting bowlers more.
Where to Watch:
Pakistan: Tapmad, Tamasha, PTV Sports, Geo Super, Ten Sports, Myco App
West Indies: Willow TV
India: Fancode App
UK: Ary Digital
Bangladesh: T Sports
America: Willow TV
South Africa: Super Sport
