Pakistan beat the West Indies by eight wickets on the fourth day of the second and final Test at Queen’s Park Oval in Trinidad on Wednesday, leveling the series after a first-Test defeat the week before, according to a report by AFP. The visitors chased down a target of just 75 runs after the home side, already reeling at 103 for six overnight, were bowled out for 117 barely half an hour into the day’s play.
Key Highlights
- Pakistan win second Test by eight wickets to draw series 1-1
- Abdullah Shafique, a late replacement, scores unbeaten 160 in first innings
- Spinners Sajid Khan and Ali Usman combine for 14 wickets in the match
- Pakistan’s first Test win at Queen’s Park Oval since 1977
- Result ends an eight-match away Test losing streak dating to 2023
Pakistan opener Abdullah Shafique scripted history with a superb 160-run knock in the second Test against the West Indies. His innings made him the first Pakistani batter in 49 years to score 150 or more runs in a Test match in the Caribbean, while his 168-run stand with Babar… pic.twitter.com/CWIgXBsV2R
— Fetch Pakistan (@FetchPakistan) August 6, 2026
Shafique’s Late Call-Up Pays Off
Abdullah Shafique and captain Babar Azam guided Pakistan home after openers Imam-ul-Haq and Azan Awais fell cheaply to pacers Jayden Seales and Shamar Joseph. Babar sealed the win in style, hitting consecutive sixes off spinner Jomel Warrican.
For Shafique, the match was a personal triumph he could hardly have expected. He wasn’t part of the original touring squad and was flown in only last week as a replacement for the injured Shan Masood. His unbeaten 160 anchored Pakistan’s first-innings total of 387, a knock that turned out to define the entire Test.
The result gave Pakistan a share of the series in almost the same fashion as their last Caribbean tour in 2021, when they also bounced back from a first-Test loss to win the second, though that series was played entirely at Sabina Park in Kingston. Pakistan’s last home series against the West Indies, two Tests in Multan in January 2025, also ended 1-1, continuing what has become a familiar pattern between the two sides.
It was also Pakistan’s first Test victory at Queen’s Park Oval since 1977, when captain Mushtaq Mohammad’s all-round display leveled a five-match series at this same venue. The West Indies went on to win that series 2-1 in the decider at Kingston, a reminder of how hard-fought these contests have historically been.
Spin Duo Does the Heavy Lifting
Pakistan’s win came with plenty of debate around it, most notably the decision to leave out senior seamer Mohammad Abbas on the first morning. In the end, it was the team’s two frontline spinners who settled the contest. Off-spinner Sajid Khan, left out of the first Test, made his recall count with a match haul of eight for 117. He wasn’t needed on the final morning, though, as left-arm orthodox spinner Ali Usman picked up two of the last three wickets to fall, finishing with four for 39 in the innings and six for 119 for the match.
West Indies were without regular opener Brandon King for the run chase, ruled out by back spasms he suffered while running out Babar Azam for 88 the previous day, a blow that further weakened an already struggling batting lineup.
Khan had done much of the damage a day earlier, taking four for 32 to trigger the West Indies’ second-innings collapse on day three. Yet Babar turned to Usman and seamer Mohammad Ali to finish the job on the fourth morning, and the tail obliged with some careless strokeplay.
Kemar Roach, who had shown defiant resistance as a tailender in the first innings, swung hopefully at his second ball from Usman and was bowled for a duck. Justin Greaves, the last realistic hope for any West Indian rearguard, dragged an attempted pull off Mohammad Ali onto his own stumps. The innings, and the match, ended when Shamar Joseph, having already struck two boundaries, went for another big swing against Usman and skied a leading edge straight to wicketkeeper Mohammad Rizwan.
A Streak Finally Broken
Beyond leveling the series, Wednesday’s win carried extra significance for Pakistan. It snapped a run of eight consecutive Test defeats away from home, a streak that stretched back to a 360-run hammering at the hands of Australia in Perth in December 2023. For a side that has struggled for consistency on the road, this one will count for more than just a shared series.
