Close West Indies 54 for 0 trail Pakistan 493 all out (Youhana 146, Latif 150) by 437 runs
scorecard

Big hundreds from Yousuf Youhana and Rashid Latif were the granite rocks upon which Pakistan built a potentially matchwinning total of 493 on the second day of the first Test against West Indies at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium. By the close, West Indies had chipped 54 runs away from the deficit. With the pitch still loaded in the batsmen's favour, much will depend on how Pakistan's spinners bowl tomorrow.

Pakistan were reeling at 94 for 4 at one stage yesterday afternoon, but today West Indies dropped their catches and lost their way. Only Chris Gayle emerged with his reputation enhanced, turning out to be Hooper's man-with-the-golden-arm. He also made light of the follow-on target of 294 when West Indies came out to bat, playing some glorious strokes as the sun went down. Had Shoaib hung on to a powerfully struck pull off Waqar just before stumps, the scenario could have been very different. As it was, two back-foot punches to long-on off Shoaib Akhtar and a couple of strokes through the covers off Waqar – all timed and executed with Swiss-watch precision - would have been cause for cheer in a West Indian dressing-room that has seen better days.

Pakistan's imposing total of 493 owed much to some sparkling batting from Youhana and Latif in the morning session. From the moment they walked out, there was nothing of the negativity or caution that characterised the batting on the opening day. Once again, though, they had some butter-fingered West Indian fielding to thank. In the third over of the morning, Latif edged a delivery from Mervyn Dillon to first slip. Gayle, who took a stunner on the opening day to send back Younis Khan, put the chance down and had plenty of reason to regret his lapse later in the day.

Latif's intentions were patently clear from the outset, as he played some powerful strokes down the ground and over the covers. Youhana's approach was more classical and he eased towards his hundred with a couple of beautifully timed strokes through mid-on.

As the morning wore on, the West Indies wilted. Carl Hooper's attempt to mix and match his bowlers failed because none of them, apart from the consistently impressive but luckless Dillon, remotely threatened a breakthrough. When he tossed the ball to Ryan Hinds it was almost a wave of the white flag, and the Pakistani batsmen showed no mercy by carting him all over the park.

Youhana turned it up a notch after getting to his hundred, but his elegant innings of 146 ended soon after lunch, when he inside-edged into the stumps while attempting to guide Cameron Cuffy down to third man (382 for 6).

Latif rode his luck and concentrated most of his aggression on Hooper. In one over, he thrice swiped him down to the long-on boundary, though on the third occasion he was decidedly fortunate that Sherwin Campbell on the fence made a mess of a high catch.

Saqlain Mushtaq batted as if he couldn't wait to get back to the pavilion for an early tea, and he finally succeeded a few minutes before the break when he smashed one straight back to Dillon (438 for 7). He made 17, and put on 56 with Latif.

Latif got to an even 150 before having his stumps rearranged by part-timer Gayle. He gave himself acres of room to loft the ball over cover but ended up finding nothing but air. As he walked back with a maiden Test century to his name, the sparse crowd – around 1000, considerably higher than yesterday's two dozen or so – cheered noisily. But with so much empty space in the stadium, you couldn't quite tell when the cheers ended and the echoes began.

Shoaib Akhtar's cameo of 20, a strange mix of crisp, clean hitting and airy wafts, got them going, especially when he deposited both Dillon and Gayle over the ropes. His captain Waqar showed he was no slouch in the six-hitting department either, swinging Dillon back over the sightscreen with a golfer's follow-through.

Shoaib's innings ended in farcical circumstances. He chopped a Gayle delivery onto the base of the stumps - dislodging a bail in the process - then turned round and peered a moment at Ridley Jacobs before setting off for a run. When he got to the non-striker's end, the umpire politely informed him that he could keep on running, all the way back to the pavilion (493 for 9).

Danish Kaneria lasted all of four balls before he knocked a half-volley straight back to Gayle. Waqar - who had watched with some amusement as Shoaib belted some leather - was left high and dry on 25, one run short of his highest Test score.

Teams
Pakistan 1 Taufeeq Umar, 2 Naved Latif, 3 Younis Khan, 4 Inzamam-ul Haq, 5 Yousuf Youhana, 6 Abdur Razzaq, 7 Rashid Latif (wk), 8 Waqar Younis (capt), 9 Shoaib Akhtar, 10 Saqlain Mushtaq, 11 Danish Kaneria.

West Indies 1 Daren Ganga, 2 Sherwin Campbell, 3 Chris Gayle, 4 Shivnarine Chanderpaul, 5 Carl Hooper (capt), 6 Wavell Hinds, 7 Ryan Hinds, 8 Ridley Jacobs (wk), 9 Mervyn Dillon, 10 Cameron Cuffy, 11 Pedro Collins.

Dileep Premachandran is assistant editor, Wisden.com India

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