[UPDATED] Imlach backs Windies to pull off rare win away to Pakistan

FOURTEEN wickets fell on day two of the second Test at the Multan Cricket Stadium between the West Indies and Pakistan on January 26, with the regional team setting the Pakistanis a victory target of 254 after being bowled out for 244 in their second innings.

By the end of the day's play, the West Indies were sensing their first Test win on Pakistan soil in over 30 years, after reducing the hosts to 76 for four – leaving them still needing 178 runs to sweep the series 2-0.

Playing in his second Test, West Indies wicket-keeper/batsman Tevin Imlach made 35 off 57 balls and shared in a 51-run stand for the seventh wicket with his Guyanese countryman Kevin Sinclair (28).

Imlach said the Windies need to improve their efforts in the field after putting down a few chances on day two. However, he's confident the Windies can make further inroads on day three to grab a win to level the series.

"Hopefully, tomorrow we can be a lot better in the field and that will put us in a better position to win the game," Imlach told the media.

"I'm very hopeful of a West Indies win. We're in a good position...Once we start well, I think we can get over the line and get them out. We're very confident looking ahead to tomorrow and seeing where the Test match goes."

West Indies made just 163 in the first innings, but Imlach said a more focused approach led to their improvement in the second innings.

"In this innings, we were a lot more confident in our defence. We played the ball a lot more on its merit. In the first innings, we would have seen some of our batsmen playing shots and trying to create shots instead of playing the ball on its merit."

Taking a nine-run lead into the second innings, which started at the beginning of day two, the Windies batting effort on the turning track was led by a gutsy innings by skipper Kraigg Brathwaite, who made 52 off 74 balls.

Debutant Amir Jangoo (30 off 52) also played a solid hand, while the lower order once again showed resistance as the Windies pushed their lead past the 250-run mark before Jomel Warrican (18) was dismissed by off-spinner Sajid Khan (four for 76) to bring an end to the innings.

Khan and left-arm spinner Noman Ali were the biggest threat to the Windies batsmen, with the latter grabbing figures of four for 80 to seal a ten-wicket haul in the match after ripping through the visitors with six for 41 in the first innings.

In their second turn at the crease, the hosts got off to a terrible start as they slipped to five for two in only the third over, after captain Shan Masood (two) and Mohammad Huraira (two) were trapped lbw by Sinclair and Gudakesh Motie respectively.

Warrican got in on the act at the end of the 14th over, as the left-arm spinner had Kamran Ghulam (19) caught by Jangoo as Pakistan slid to 48 for three.

Just before the close of play, West Indies got another key scalp when Sinclair (two for 41) removed star batsman Babar Azam (31) to leave the hosts on 71 for four.

The Pakistanis added five more runs before stumps, with Saud Shakeel (13 not out) and night-watchman Kashif Ali taking them to the end of play without further loss.

Imlach said the regional men had to adapt quickly on the tricky surface. And after suffering a heavy 127-run loss in the first Test, the Windies are now poised to exact revenge.

"We took the learning from the previous innings and it was much better. We applied ourselves as batsmen and as bowlers. We obviously have some quality spinners in our team as well...we'd cause some challenges for the Pakistani batsmen."

The third day's play is expected to commence at 12.30 am (TT time) on January 27.

This story was originally published with the title "Windies make inroads as Pakistan chase 254 for victory in 2nd Test" and has been adjusted to include additional details. See original post below.

FOURTEEN wickets fell on day two of the second Test at the Multan Cricket Stadium between the West Indies and Pakistan on January 26, with the regional team setting the Pakistanis a victory target of 254 after being bowled out for 244 in their second innings.

By the end of the day's play, the West Indies were sensing their first Test win on Pakistan soil in over 30 years, after reducing the hosts to 76 for four – still needing 178 runs to sweep the series 2-0.

Taking a nine-run lead into the second innings, which started at the beginning of day two, the Windies batting effort on the turning track was led by a gutsy innings by skipper Kraigg Brathwaite, who made 52 off 74 balls.

Wicket-keeper/batsman Tevin Imlach (35 off 57) and debutant Amir Jangoo (30 off 52) also played solid hands, while the lower order once again showed resistance as the Windies pushed their lead past the 250-run mark before Jomel Warrican (18) was dismissed by off-spinner Sajid Khan (four for 76) to bring an end to the innings.

Khan and left-arm spinner Noman Ali were the biggest threat to the Windies batsmen, with the latter grabbing figures of four for 80 to seal a ten-wicket haul in the match after ripping through the visitors with six for 41 in the first innings.

In their second turn at the crease, the hosts got off to a terrible start as they slipped to five for two in only the third over, after captain Shan Masood (two) and Mohammad Huraira (two) were trapped lbw by Kevin Sinclair and Gudakesh Motie respectively.

Warrican got in on the act at the end of the 14th over, as the left-arm spinner had Kamran Ghulam (19) caught by Jangoo as Pakistan slid to 48 for three.

Just before the close of play, West Indies got another key scalp when Sinclair (two for 41) removed star batsman Babar Azam (31) to leave the hosts on 71 for four.

The Pakistanis added five more runs before stumps, with Saud Shakeel (13 not out) and night-watchman Kashif Ali taking them to the end of play without further loss.

The third day's play is expected to commence at 12.30 am (TT time) on January 27.

Summarised Scores:

WEST INDIES – 163 (Gudakesh Motie 55, Jomel Warrican 36, Kemar Roach 25; Noman Ali 6/41, Sajid Khan 2/64) & 244 (Kraigg Brathwaite 52, Tevin Imlach 35, Amir Jangoo 30; S Khan 4/76, N Ali 4/80) vs
PAKISTAN – 154 (Mohammad Rizwan 49, Saud Shakeel 32; J Warrican 4/43, G Motie 3/49) & 76/4 (Babar Azam 31, Kamran Ghulam 19; Kevin Sinclair 2/41).