TEST: West Indies snatch victory in thriller to take 1-0 lead
West Indies 253 (Brathwaite 97, Holder 58, Afridi 4-59) and 168 for 9 (Blackwood 55, Roach 30*, Afridi 4-50) beat Pakistan 217 (Fawad 56, Holder 3-26) and 203 (Azam 55, Seales 5-55) by one wicket
Antigua 2000, Dominica 2017 and now Jamaica 2021. West Indies and Pakistan added another chapter to the list of enthralling, nail-biting Tests between these two sides as the hosts eked out a stunning one-wicket win with Nos. 9 and 11 holding on.
As Kemar Roach and Jayden Seales kept batting, the nerves kept building. It all came down to a fateful Hasan Ali over, with a nick evading a valiant dive from Mohammad Rizwan to race away for a boundary, before Roach pushed one through the offside to guarantee the win and give West Indies a 1-0 lead in the two-match series.
Pakistan had their chances, but the story, for now, is thoroughly West Indian. They looked like they had been edged out of this match so often towards the death, and yet refused to acknowledge it was game over. It looked game over when Roston Chase and Kyle Mayers fell in quick succession, when Jason Holder was cleaned up by Hasan, when Joshua da Silva – the last recognized batter – fell with 26 still to go. But West Indies kept knocking down the runs, and the scoreboard pressure shifted entirely to Pakistan. Pakistan might have been firm favourites after the hosts had been reduced to nine down, but Roach and the teenager Seales held theirs as Pakistan lost their nerve. (ESPNcricinfo)
Thrilling game. Congrats WI.
However, it seems like this is a series between two pretty limited teams.