West Indies Eye 350+ as Amir Jangoo Backs Team’s Strong Position in Second Test Against Pakistan
PORT OF SPAIN (Trinidad & Tobago): West Indies finished day one of the second Test against Pakistan at Queen’s Park Oval, Port of Spain in a strong position on Friday, with 239/5 in a match affected by rain. Middle-order batter Amir Jangoo insisted the hosts remained well on track to record an imposing first-innings score, claiming anything over 350 would almost be impossible for Pakistan to recover from.
After the close of play on day three, Jangoo felt West Indies squandered a chance to put themselves in an even stronger position after losing some wickets at pivotal moments. But he appreciated the way the batting unit went about with their jobs on a slow and tough wicket.
The pitch is slow and Jangoo said it was not an easy wicket to strike against. Although Pakistan’s spinners were generally disciplined, West Indies were in command for most of the day while building some handy partnerships.
Brandon King scored a quick 46 in the innings, Justin Greaves remained not out on 64 and captain Roston Chase ended the day with 36 not out. Jangoo himself scored 26 runs before he got out.
The Trinidad-born batsman believes the second day will offer the best batting conditions before the pitch starts to deteriorate. By the time batsmen walk into bat, particularly in the fourth innings of a Test match, he believes it will hopefully be easier to see cracks and uneven turn.
In hindsight, the first day suggested Pakistan were making the right decision by bringing in Sajid Khan to augment their spin attack and partnering him with Ali Usman. Sajid took out Kavem Hodge and Usman received his first Test wicket after bowling Brandon King. The duo controlled the pace of scoring by landing accurate lines and forcing repeated pressure.
The surface had only a sprinkling of turn, Usman explained but slow enough that batters found time to adjust. “We had to squeeze them, get our areas right, a lot of dot balls by just trying to put pressure on the batsman rather than (worrying about) how extravagant two or three inches that turn is,” he said.
Jangoo said having more spin in the attack and pitch she adds, the new ball will still be a potent weapon moving into the summer months. With regard to Pakistan’s first innings, he expects the West Indies fast bowlers to take advantage of any early movement. Even with Greaves and Chase at the crease, the hosts now had designs on moving their total well past 350 and really taking charge of this Test before the surface became unplayable for batting.
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