Pakistan have gone for a spin bowling attack as they seek a clean sweep against the West Indies in the second Test starting on Saturday.

Pakistan completed a 127-run win inside three days in the opening Test, with spinners Sajid Khan taking nine wickets, Noman Ali six and Abrar Ahmed five for their third straight win at home.

West Indies left-arm spinner Jomel Warrican also grabbed a career-best 7-32 as 34 of the 40 wickets in the match went to spinners.

The second Test will also be played on a dry and grassless pitch in the central city of Multan.

Former Pakistan players and analysts hit out at the spin-heavy strategy, saying the team would struggle on away tours where pitches may not be as conducive to spin.

Aaqib, a fast bowler from an era dominated by the great pacemen Wasim Akram and Waqar Younis, insisted the spin assault would continue.

“We found that the West Indies have a weakness in dealing with the spin bowling, so we exploited that and will do that again,” Aaqib told a news conference on Friday.

West Indies skipper Kraigg Brathwaite had no qualms about Pakistan’s tactics.

“Pakistan are playing at home and if they believe spinning pitches are their strength then that’s fine and that’s how cricket is played,” Brathwaite said. “I have played on pitches which took turn from day one but not like this, which had cracks from day one.”

The West Indies will be without injured pace bowler Jayden Seales, who took three wickets in the first match and will be replaced by the experienced Kemar Roach.

Pakistan are unlikely to make any changes.

Brathwaite said his batsmen need more faith after the first Test, in which his team managed just 137 and 123 in their two innings, with Alick Athanaze the only one to reach a half century.

“It was a difficult pitch to bat in the last game,” Brathwaite said. “I would say you need to believe in your plan from ball one and not think of the third or fourth ball.”

Pakistan are eighth and the West Indies ninth and last on the World Test Championship table.

Another victory in Multan could see the hosts rise to seventh.

Pakistan were forced to make radical changes last year after losing the first of three Tests against England, their 11th straight home Test without a win.

The Aaqib-led selection panel dropped out-of-form batsman Babar Azam and rested pace spearheads Shaheen Shah Afridi and Naseem Shah.

The tactics worked on the spin-friendly pitches in Rawalpindi and Pakistan went on to win the series 2-1.

“If we had taken these decisions earlier we would have been in the race for World Test Championship final,” Aaqib said.

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Spinner Sajid Khan took five wickets and Abrar Ahmed another four to guide Pakistan to a 127-run win on the third day of the first Test against the West Indies in Multan.

Sajid took 5-50 for match figures of 9-115, while leg-spinner Abrar Ahmed snared 4-27 as the West Indies were dismissed for 123, falling well short of their victory target of 251.

Pakistan’s spinners took all the wickets in the West Indies’ second innings, with Noman Ali chipping in with 1-42, as the home side took an early advantage in the two-Test series.

Left-handed batsman Alick Athanaze hit 55, the only half-century of the match for the tourists, and added 41 runs for the sixth wicket with Tevin Imlach.

Sajid removed the dangerous Athanaze, while Abrar’s haul included the final wicket of Jomel Warrican.

Left-armer Warrican had led the spin attack for the tourists with a career-best 7-32 as Pakistan were bowled out for 157 in their second innings.

They were also the best figures by a West Indian bowler in Pakistan, topping fast bowler Malcolm Marshall’s 5-33 at Lahore in 1986.

The Test lasted fewer than eight sessions, with the start delayed on the first day by poor visibility.

The Multan pitch provided sharp turn, with Sajid taking the wickets of skipper Kraigg Brathwaite (12), Keacy Carty (six), Kavem Hodge (nought) and Mikyle Louis (13).

Noman then trapped Justin Greaves leg lbw for nine in the last over before lunch, leaving the tourists tottering on 54-5.

Pakistan had resumed earlier on 109-3 but managed to add just 48 runs.

Warrican’s nagging line and length earned him match figures of 10-101, his first 10-wicket match haul.

He dismissed overnight batsman Saud Shakeel for two with the first ball of the day and then had Mohammad Rizwan for the same score in his next over.

Warrican continued the demolition act with the wickets of Kamran Ghulam (27), Noman (nine) and Sajid (five).

The second match starts on 25 January, also in Multan.

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Spin wizards Noman Ali and Sajid Khan guided Pakistan to a strong position against the West Indies after another spin-dominated day’s play in the opening Test in Multan.

The pair shared nine wickets between them to dismiss the West Indies for a paltry 137 in reply to the home team’s 230 all out earlier on day two.

By the close, Pakistan had stretched the 93-run lead to 202 by scoring 109-3 in their second innings, with Kamran Ghulam and Saud Shakeel batting on nine and two respectively when bad light ended play 25 minute before time.

Left-arm spinner Jomel Warrican (2-17) dismissed Muhammad Hurraira for 29 after an opening stand of 67 and Babar Azam for a second failure, trapped lbw for five.

Skipper Shan Masood look solid for his 52, hitting two sixes and two fours, before Warrican ran him out after attempting a quick single.

The dry and grassless Multan pitch has already produced 22 wickets in six sessions even though two-and-a-half hours were lost on day one, and another 30 minutes on Saturday, because of poor visibility.

Noman grabbed 5-39 for his seventh five-wicket haul in Tests, while Sajid finished with 4-65 to dismiss the West Indies after lunch in a first innings that lasted just 25.2 overs.

Noman and Sajid, who shared 39 of the 40 wickets in the last two Tests against England in Pakistan’s 2-1 series win last year, were once again unplayable.

Sajid opened the bowling and removed Mikyle Louis (one), Keacy Carty (nought), Kraigg Brathwaite (11) and Kavem Hodge (four) in his first three overs.

Noman then further jolted the tourists with another four wickets to leave them on 66-8.

The tailenders showed more resistance, with No 10 batsman Warrican unbeaten on 31, with Gudakesh Motie adding 19 and Jayden Seales the last wicket to fall for 22.

Seales hit three sixes before holing out off spinner Abrar Ahmed.

Earlier, Warrican took 3-69 as Pakistan lost their last six wickets for 43 runs after resuming at 143-4.

Saud Shakeel top-scored for Pakistan with 84 off 157 deliveries, including six boundaries, while keeper Mohammad Rizwan added 71.

Shakeel added an invaluable 141 for the fifth wicket with Rizwan, lifting Pakistan from a precarious 46-4 on day one.

Kevin Sinclair sparked the Pakistan batting collapse by taking Shakeel’s wicket with the first ball after drinks.

He then trapped Rizwan lbw off a missed reverse sweep, the original decision of not out overturned on review. Rizwan’s 133-ball stay included nine boundaries.

Sajid hit a boundary and a six in a rapid-fire 18 before he was bowled by Warrican on the stroke of lunch to end Pakistan’s innings.

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