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On the fourth morning at the Queen’s Park Oval, it took Pakistan barely a session to polish off West Indies’ lower order, set Babar Azam’s side a target of 75, and let Shafique and Babar do the rest. After lunch, Babar danced down the wicket and deposited Jomel Warrican for back-to-back sixes. The series was level. Pakistan had their first away Test win in three years — and Babar’s second stint as Test captain had its first result to celebrate.
Port of Spain, Trinidad: There is a version of Pakistan’s overseas Test record over the last three years that makes for grim reading: eight consecutive defeats away from home, a losing streak that had come to feel almost structural. It ended on the fourth morning at the Queen’s Park Oval in Port of Spain, August 5, through the spin of Sajid Khan and Ali Usman on a surface that had begun to reward patience, and through Abdullah Shafique’s monumental unbeaten 160 that had given Pakistan the platform everything else required.
The 1-1 series result — the third consecutive time these two sides have drawn a two-match Test series with this exact scoreline — is misleading in its symmetry. Pakistan were the better side across the second Test. They were more consistent with the bat, more clinical with the ball in West Indies’ second innings, and more composed under pressure. West Indies had their moments — Greaves and Chase in the first innings, the batting of Kavem Hodge in the second — but never found the sustained discipline to counter what Pakistan’s spinners brought on a surface that was always going to turn.
Warrican Takes Six, Shafique Stands Firm
Pakistan’s first innings was defined by one performance and one contest. Jomel Warrican — the left-arm spinner who has been the most threatening bowler in the Caribbean this series — took 6 for 112 from 46 overs, the figures of a man who worked tirelessly and earned everything he got. The wickets included the prize scalp of Babar Azam, who had added a composed 88 from 147 deliveries before being run out — one of the match’s grimmer moments for the Pakistan captain, who departed just as he was looking set for a major score.
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Warrican could not, however, remove Abdullah Shafique. The opener batted through 323 deliveries in an innings of uncommon discipline, converting his overnight century into an unbeaten 160 that anchored Pakistan’s total to 387. It was not always fluent — there were periods of caution, particularly against Warrican’s turn — but it was never truly threatening to end. Shafique found runs in the gaps, accumulated through the middle, and was still there when Pakistan’s tail subsided around him. His 160 not out was the highest score by a Pakistan opener in the West Indies since Saeed Anwar, a fact that was noted in the commentary box and deserves to be noted again here.
Sajid Khan’s first-innings contributions with the bat — 30 at the lower order — proved valuable in pushing Pakistan’s lead to 43, a number that would look modest but play significant given the surface’s later deterioration.
Sajid and Usman Dismantle the Windies Second Innings
West Indies had closed Day 3 at 103 for 6, Pakistan already scenting the win. Brandon King, who had been running through in an attempt to run out Babar Azam the previous day, had picked up a lower-back injury in the process and was unable to bat. Justin Greaves had survived to the close but added nothing to the overnight score before chopping Mohammad Ali onto his stumps on the 12th delivery of Day 4. Kemar Roach lasted two balls. Shamar Joseph, riding his luck through a couple of boundaries, top-edged Ali Usman to end the innings at 117.
The bowling figures told the story cleanly. Sajid Khan: 4 for 85 in the first innings, 4 for 32 in the second — 8 wickets in the match for 117 runs. Ali Usman: controlled throughout the first innings, then 4 for 39 in the second as the pitch quickened on the turning deliveries. Twelve spinners’ wickets in the second innings: the surface had become their ally, and they used it without mercy.
“The ball was turning, and when it turns, it’s slow turn, which gives the batters time to adjust,” Ali Usman had said after Day 1. He was prescient. By Day 4, the ball was doing considerably more, and the West Indies batters had considerably less time than they expected.
Babar Breaks the Sequence with Two Sixes
Pakistan chased 75. Imam-ul-Haq nicked off to Jayden Seales early on — a momentary wobble that produced more comedy than concern. Azan Awais edged onto his stumps to give the West Indies a second wicket. But with Babar and Shafique together again, with 35 needed from 40 balls after the fall of the second wicket, there was only one direction the match was heading.
After lunch, Babar confirmed it. He danced down the wicket against Warrican — the man who had troubled him most across the innings — and launched him for consecutive sixes. Pakistan had won by eight wickets. The eight-match overseas losing streak was over. The series was levelled at 1-1.
“It was important for us to win this one,” said Babar at the post-match presentation. “The boys showed great character. Abdullah was outstanding — to bat like that on this surface and hold the innings together is exactly what we needed. The spinners deserve huge credit.”
Justin Greaves took the Player of the Series award for West Indies, his 73 in the first innings and 7 wickets across both matches making him the tourists’ most threatening individual performer. The individual award sat at odds with the team result, but that is sometimes how series go. Pakistan head to England for their next tour assignment; West Indies host South Africa in September. Both sides depart the Queen’s Park Oval knowing they squandered opportunities in the match they lost, and that the other side found something they needed when it mattered.
WTC Implications
The 1-1 result gives both sides two WTC points from this series, with West Indies retaining their hard-won 1-0 lead from the first Test offset by Pakistan’s levelling win. Pakistan move to fifth in the WTC 2025-27 standings. A series win would have done more for their points percentage, but ending an eight-match overseas losing streak — while also getting Babar’s second stint as captain off the mark — is a result that carries its own momentum heading towards the next assignment.
Scorecard
West Indies 1st innings: 344/10 (105.4 overs) — Justin Greaves 73, Roston Chase 70; Sajid Khan 4-85, Ali Usman 2-80 (35) Pakistan 1st innings: 387/10 (115 overs) — Abdullah Shafique 160*, Babar Azam 88, Sajid Khan 30; Jomel Warrican 6-112 (46)
West Indies 2nd innings: 117/10 (46.1 overs) — Kavem Hodge 34; Sajid Khan 4-32 (12), Ali Usman 4-39
Pakistan 2nd innings: 77/2 (23.3 overs) — Babar Azam 24*, Abdullah Shafique 24*; Jayden Seales 1-9, Shamar Joseph 1-17
Result: Pakistan won by 8 wickets | Series: 1-1
Player of the Match: Abdullah Shafique (Pakistan) — 160* (323) & 24* (51)
Player of the Series: Justin Greaves (West Indies) — 73 runs & 7 wickets across series
Venue: Queen’s Park Oval, Port of Spain, Trinidad |
Dates: August 2–5, 2026
Note: Pakistan’s first away Test win since 2023 (vs Sri Lanka in Sri Lanka); ends eight-match overseas losing streak
