Tea Pakistan 86 for 4 (Shakeel 33*, Rizwan 18*, Seales 3-19) vs. West Indies

After the start was delayed by four hours due to heavy fog enveloping the ground, Pakistan won the toss and batted first in the foggy conditions, with the floodlights on throughout the course of play. Left-arm spinner Gudakesh Motie bowled the first ball, an indication of how both sides view the pitch, on which each fielded three specialist spinners.

Motie got rid of Pakistan captain Shan Masood early and clipped him down to debutant wicketkeeper Tevin Imlach on the leg side. But for the rest of the hour, it was Seales’ show. He had sniffed right from the start, and got his reward when Hurraira hung the bat out and got the outside edge. That was followed by a beauty to remove Ghulam, who had just sent a swinger to the boundary.

The delivery after the four, Ghulam shouldered his arms, but the ball viciously sewed back into him, hitting the thigh, with HawkEye showing that it would have clipped the top. The big fish came shortly after, another glorious use of the seam. Seales hit a hard length which Babar looked to parry into the offside. But it shaped just enough to kiss the outside edge through to Imlach. Babar reported, but like Ghulam, he was not exposed.

The innings threatened to fall apart at that point but Shakeel, seasoned on surfaces like these, restored some order to matters for Pakistan. The sting was taken out by the quicks and the spinners were deftly negotiated. At the other end, Rizwan kept his concentration level up as West Indies continued to roam

There was still plenty for the visitors to get excited about, but neither batsman offered a chance as they ticked over the runs, pulling Pakistan towards a slightly less dangerous position than they found themselves in after the first hour.