Pakistan Pink-Hot Favourites in Day-Night Test vs West Indies
Pakistan have been on a roll since their 2-2 series draw in England in August, which briefly lifted them to number one position in world cricket's Test rankings for the first time.
- Agence France-Presse
- Updated: October 12, 2016 10:43 AM IST
Highlights
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Pakistan and West Indies will play three Tests against each other
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The first Test will be played in Dubai from October 13 to 17
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It will be the first day-night Test for both teams
In-form Pakistan are ready to launch a pink-ball spin assault on struggling West Indies when they do battle in Asia's first day-night Test from Thursday in Dubai.
Pakistan have been on a roll since their 2-2 series draw in England in August, which briefly lifted them to number one position in world cricket's Test rankings for the first time.
Arch-rivals India relegated Pakistan to number two with recent victory over New Zealand but Misbah-ul-Haq's men have a prime opportunity to close the gap in the three-match series against the West Indies and are strong favourites.
Pakistan captain Misbah said he was relishing the prospect of a day-night Test, where play will be from 3:30 pm to 10:30 pm (1130 GMT to 1830 GMT) with two breaks of 30 minutes, in what is nominally a "home" series for Pakistan.
"It's exciting because I think the future belongs to day-night Tests," said Misbah, whose team will be missing senior batsman Younis Khan, recovering from dengue fever.
Pakistan have included in-form batsman Babar Azam, 21, for his first Test after he racked up 360 runs during the one-day series against the West Indies.
But misfiring openers Mohammad Hafeez and Shan Masood have been axed from the squad which levelled the four-match Test series against England.
The West Indies, routed by Pakistan 3-0 in both Twenty20 and one-day series preceeding the Tests, come in as clear underdogs.
Coach Phil Simmons, who guided them to the World Twenty20 title in April this year, was sacked prior to this tour after the team lost 2-0 to India in a four-match series in August.
But captain Jason Holder said the West Indies -- down in eighth in the Test rankings -- are ready to bounce back.
"We have some new faces in Tests so we will do our best," said Holder.
Experts, however, see Pakistan's spin duo of Yasir Shah and Zulfiqar Babar proving too much for the spin-wary West Indian batsmen, especially in the unfamiliar day-night format with the pink ball and under lights.
Making history
Australia staged the inaugural day-night Test against New Zealand in Adelaide last November -- the first in Test cricket's 140-year history.
The innovation has been brought in to address the dwindling crowds in Test cricket -- floodlit matches encourage those at work during the day to attend -- and has met with initial success.
Today in Dubai we're training with the pink ball as we prepare for our first day/night Test under lights
Topics mentioned in this articlePakistan Cricket Team , 1900-01-01 , Pakistan West Indies Cricket Team , 1900-01-01 , West Indies Cricket , 1900-01-01 ,Get the Latest IPL 2024 Updates, check out IPL 2024 schedules and IPL points table at NDTV Sports.Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter for more sports updates. You can also download the NDTV Cricket app for Android or iOS.