West Indies beat Pakistan by 90 runs in the first Test at the Brian Lara Cricket Academy in Tarouba, taking a 1-0 lead in the two-match series. This marked Pakistan’s eighth consecutive away Test loss. It was also the return of Babar Azam as captain of the red-ball format, but he couldnโt inspire the team as the batting unit flopped again.ย
Now, the loss was not the only bad news for Pakistan. Their star bowlers Khurram Shahzad and Mohammad Abbas were penalised for breaching Level 1 of the ICC Code of Conduct during the match. Both the cricketers were found guilty of breaching Article 2.5 of the code, which covers language, actions or gestures that could provoke an aggressive reaction from a batter following a dismissal.
Notably, Shahzad was fined 15% of his match fee for celebrating aggressively close to Shai Hope after dismissing him in the 17th over of West Indies’ second innings. The action was considered capable of provoking an aggressive reaction by the ICC Elite Panel of Match Referees. Moreover, Abbas was also penalised for celebrating in an animated manner after dismissing Jomel Warrican, the last West Indies wicket to fall in the innings. For the actions, he received an official reprimand rather than a fine.ย
Both players accepted responsibility and agreed to the sanctions proposed by ICC Elite Panel Match Referee Jeff Crowe, so the matter was resolved without a formal hearing.
Pakistan’s embarrassing batting show
Pakistan made 282 in their first innings, with Shan Masood scoring 109, the highest score of the innings. That left them chasing 211 to win in the fourth innings against West Indies’ 311
However, Pakistan were bowled out for 120 in 41 overs. The collapse was brutal and they lost five wickets for just 15 runs. Only three batters made more than nine runs. At one point, Pakistan were 71 for nine. Other than Babar, who made unbeanten 58 runs off 107 balls, including nine fours, there was no resistance put up from their side. Abbas came out as the second best scorres for the team, with 23 runs off 33 balls.
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