Pakistan whipped the West Indies by nine wickets yesterday despite Brian Lara smashing his 33rd century in Test cricket on the fourth day of the first Test.
Lara made a fluent 122 and Shivnarine Chanderpaul braved dehydration to score a fighting 81 before the West Indies crumbled to 291 for an overall lead of just 12 runs.
Pakistan -- which scored 485 in reply to the West Indies first innings score of 206 -- lost opener Mohammad Hafeez (1) before racing to 13-1 in fading light.
PHOTO: AFP
Pakistan fast bowlers Umar Gul (4-99) and Shahid Nazir (3-63) once again shared the bulk of wickets as they did in the first innings.
Gul finished the match with impressive figures of 9-164 and Nazir claimed 6-105.
The left-handed experienced batting pair of Lara and Chanderpaul featured in a 137-run partnership and defied the Pakistan bowlers for more than three hours with some impressive strokeplay.
Lara's departure midway into the second session ended the West Indies resistance as it lost its last six wickets for 53 runs.
Chanderpaul, who hit eight fours in his 178 ball innings, was the eighth wicket to fall when one run was still needed to wipe out the 279-run deficit. He top edged a Nazir delivery with the second new ball to Mohammad Yousuf.
Lara was trapped lbw by part-time off-spinner Mohammad Hafeez off a delivery that kept straight after. The elegant left-handed entertained with 19 boundaries in his 215-ball knock of five hours.
Wicketkeeper Kamran Akmal fumbled a stumping opportunity off Chanderpaul soon after Lara was dismissed while Imran Farhat dropped a regulation catch at forward short leg before Dwayne Bravo had scored.
Bravo struggled for 19 deliveries to score two runs but left the West Indies lurching at 248-6 when Gul had him lbw.
Leg-spinner Danish Kaneria (1-78) finally got a wicket in his 27th over of the innings when he had Denesh Ramdin (1) caught close to the wicket by Farhat.
It was another debatable decision by Sri Lankan umpire Asoka de Silva as the television replays showed that the ball had not touched Ramdin's bat.
Lara completed his third successive Test century against Pakistan off 180 balls soon after the lunch break when he hit a cracking square cut off Gul for his 16th boundary.
Chanderpaul followed with his half century off 116 balls with five boundaries before Hafeez removed Lara and the West Indies lost its way.
Earlier, the West Indies lost just one wicket in the first session -- nightwatchman Fidel Edwards (10) -- and added 114 runs after it resumed on its overnight score of 74-3.
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