Pakistan took advantage of lapses in the field to reach 322 for five at lunch in the first innings on the fourth day of the first Test against West Indies yesterday.
Resuming at the overnight position of 201 for four and facing the threat of the second new ball, the tourists added another 121 runs for the loss of just one wicket with wicketkeeper-batsman Sarfraz Ahmed leading the charge.
He stroked an unbeaten 53 while his captain, Misbah ul Haq, continued in his usual restrained manner and will resume in the afternoon session on 47 at Sabina Park in Jamaica.
Their sixth-wicket partnership has been worth 86 runs so far following the dismissal of Asad Shafiq, caught behind off fast bowler Shannon Gabriel, who has been by far the pick of the West Indies bowlers with figures of three for 73 off 24 overs on an increasingly placid pitch.
Yet despite the batting-friendly conditions, the home side have only themselves to blame for both batsmen still being at the crease when play resumes for the afternoon session, with Pakistan in control.
Misbah was missed twice, the first time early in the extended morning session when debutant Vishaul Singh was slow to react at short-leg as the veteran skipper fended at a lifting delivery from Gabriel.
Then closer to the lunch interval, Alzarri Joseph completely misjudged an attempt running back from mid-off when the batsman miscued a lofted hit off leg-spinner Devendra Bishoo.
In keeping with his ultra-aggressive mode, Ahmed altered the pedestrian pace of the game from the moment he came to the crease, advancing down the pitch to the faster bowlers and seeking to score at every opportunity.
He completed his 12th Test half-century in the final over before the break off 60 deliveries with one six and five fours, and then promptly had his own moment of good fortune, wicketkeeper Shane Dowrich missing a stumping chance when the batsman charged forward for another aggressive stroke at Roston Chase.
Misbah has so far spent three-and-a-half hours in the middle, facing 128 deliveries and striking one four and one six, the big hit coming off the last ball bowled by Chase before the conclusion of the morning session.
Younis Khan became the first Pakistan batsman to score 10,000 Test runs on Sunday, reaching the milestone in the opening match of his farewell international series.
Earlier this year, Younis also became the first batsman to score centuries in all 11 countries that have hosted tests after completing his set with a maiden ton in Australia, and the Pakistan cricket Board was quick to pay tribute to the 39-year-old’s “prolific career”.
“Younis Khan has been an excellent ambassador of Pakistan cricket,” PCB Chairman Shaharyar M. Khan said on the board’s website. “The number of records he has set in the recent past is something we as a nation can take great pride in.”
PCB Executive Committee Chairman Najam Aziz Sethi said Younis was a “run machine” while chief operating officer Subhan Ahmad described him as
the “backbone” of Pakistan’s batting.
Younis was stuck on 9,999 runs at the tea break on the third day at Sabina Park in Kingston but did not have to wait much longer for his moment to come.
On the second ball of the final session, Younis swept off-spinner Roston Chase to the fine-leg boundary as an excited Pakistani contingent in the small crowd cheered and chanted wildly.
Younis removed his helmet, pointed his bat towards his team mates in the pavilion and punched his chest.
He took 208 innings to reach the 10,000 mark, and has averaged just over 53 runs in his
116-Test career, scoring 34 centuries.
India’s Sunil Gavaskar became the first player to score 10,000 Test runs in 1987 while his compatriot Sachin Tendulkar heads the all-time list with 15,921.
Born in Mardan, a city in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, Younis scored a century in his debut test against Sri Lanka in 2000 and notched his highest score of 313 against the same side in 2009.
Later that year, he led his country to a World T20 win at Lord’s where they defeated Sri Lanka to lift the trophy.
Younis played 265 one day internationals and amassed 7,249 runs before stepping back from the format in 2015.
That same year he also became Pakistan’s highest Test run maker, passing Javed Miandad’s mark of 8,832 runs.
He announced earlier this month that he would bring the curtain down on his international career after the three-test series against West Indies.
After sharing in a third-wicket partnership of 131 with Babar Azam on Sunday, Younis was caught at cover off paceman Shannon Gabriel for 58.
Pakistan were 201 for four wickets at stumps in their first innings, 85 runs behind.

SCOREBOARD
At Lunch
West Indies 1st Innings 286
Pakistan 1st Innings
(overnight 201 for 4)
A. Ali c Dowrich b Joseph     15
A. Shehzad lbw Holder     31
B. Azam b Gabriel     72
Y. Khan c Brathwaite b Gabriel     58
Misbah ul Haq not out     47
A. Shafiq c Dowrich b Gabriel     22
S. Ahmed not out     53
Extras (b-4, lb-9, nb-11)     24
Total (5 wkts, 109 overs)     322
Fall of wickets: 1-23 (Ali), 2-54 (Shehzad), 3-185 (Khan), 4-186 (Azam), 5-236 (Shafiq)
Bowling: S. Gabriel 24-5-73-3 (6nb), A. Joseph 23-6-56-1 (2nb), J. Holder 25-5-54-1 (3nb), D. Bishoo 23-2-68-0, R. Chase 7-1-36-0, K. Brathwaite 7-1-22-0.

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