OTD । West Indies’ withdrawal from their Pakistan tour in the aftermath of the September 11 attacks in the USA gave Sharjah its first Test

Pakistan cricket has had to bear the brunt of non-cricketing events and one of those events happened in 2002 when the West Indies refused to the Pakistan tour in the wake of the 9/11 attacks in the USA. This resulted in the series getting moved to UAE, which was a big shift as UAE had never hosted a Test match between two Test-playing nations. Sharjah hosted the tour which commenced with a Test match that started on this day in 2002. 

First Innings of Sharjah Test

The Pakistan skipper Waqar Younis won the toss and opted to bat first. However, they could not justify the decision at the start as the West Indies reduced Pakistan to 4/94 in no time. But the visitors could not build upon this initial success with the ball and Pakistan made a comeback as the middle order chipped in at the right time. Mohammad Yousuf and Rashid Latif brought Pakistan back into the game with their amazing centuries. On the back of these two gritty knocks, Pakistan posted 493 runs in the first innings which was a big total considering the precarious situation that they were in. 

For the Caribbean side, the opening pair of Chris Gayle and Darren Ganga added 88 runs for the first wicket which initiated the run chase for West Indies on a good note. However, the duo could not make it big after a compact start and the trend was followed by other batters. Multiple players in the West Indies batting unit made half-centuries but none of them stayed long enough to carry the team beyond the total that they were looking for. As a result, West Indies could only manage to score 366 runs conceding a huge lead to Pakistan. 

No competition in the second innings

The second innings, unlike the first one, was dominated by Pakistan throughout. Extending upon the massive lead, Pakistan scored 214 runs in the second innings before they declared. West Indies had an uphill task of chasing 342 runs. The Pakistan bowlers steamrolled the visitors with Shoaib Akhtar achieving a 5-wicket haul. In the end, it was a comfortable victory for the hosts as they won the match by 170 runs. The Rawalpindi pace sensation won the ‘Player of the Match award for his stunning spell in the second innings.