Pakistan Beats West Indies in 2nd Test, I was half asleep, phone face down on the pillow, when it started buzzing non-stop around 2 AM Pakistan time. That’s usually a bad sign during a Caribbean tour it either means someone’s texting because Pakistan collapsed again, or something actually went right for once. I picked it up half expecting the worst.It was our family cricket group chat. One word, all caps: “WON.”
That’s the thing about following Pakistan cricket in the West Indies the time difference basically forces you to either stay up stupidly late or wake up to the result cold. This time, waking up to “Pakistan won by 8 wickets” felt genuinely different, because a few days earlier the mood in that same group chat was pure gloom.
Pakistan had just lost the first Test in Tarouba by 90 runs. Babar Azam had returned as Test captain after almost three years away from the red ball leadership role, and honestly, a lot of fans (myself included, if I’m being honest) weren’t convinced it would fix anything. One Test in, it looked like more of the same old story a promising top order, then a collapse, then everyone blaming the selection committee on Twitter.
So heading into the second Test at Queen’s Park Oval, Port of Spain, Pakistan were down 1-0 in a two match series with basically no margin for error. Lose this one, and it’s another away series gone. That context is what made the eventual result feel so much bigger than just “won a cricket match.”
What Actually Happened on the Field
West Indies batted first and put up a fighting 344, with Justin Greaves (73) and Roston Chase (70) doing most of the heavy lifting in the middle order. Sajid Khan, Pakistan’s off-spinner, was the standout with the ball, picking up four wickets in that innings.
Then Pakistan replied, and this is where the match really turned. Abdullah Shafique batted like a man who’d been waiting for this exact moment he ended up unbeaten on 160, anchoring the innings from one end while everyone else came and went around him. Azan Awais gave him a solid opening stand, and Babar Azam chipped in with 88 in the middle order. Pakistan finished on 387, a lead of 43 runs, which doesn’t sound huge on paper but completely shifted the momentum of the match.
West Indies’ second innings is honestly the part I keep replaying. Their lower order just fell apart on the fourth morning Sajid Khan and Ali Usman ran through them, taking four wickets apiece, and the whole innings folded for 117 in well under half an hour of play. That left Pakistan chasing a tiny target of 75, which even a team as inconsistent as Pakistan in the fourth innings wasn’t going to mess up. Shafique and Babar both finished unbeaten as Pakistan cruised home by 8 wickets.
Jomel Warrican, to be fair to West Indies, had bowled beautifully in Pakistan’s first innings and picked up six wickets but it wasn’t enough once the momentum flipped.
Shafique was named Player of the Match for his 160 and 24 not out, and it’s hard to argue with that. Justin Greaves picked up Player of the Series for his all round contribution with bat and ball, while Babar Azam finished as Pakistan’s leading run scorer for the series.
Why I Actually Cared About the Team Combination
Here’s something that stood out to me as someone who’s watched a lot of Pakistan Tests go sideways because of selection calls, they left out Mohammad Abbas, their most consistent seam bowler in recent memory, and brought in an extra spinner instead. On paper that looked risky, maybe even reckless, going into a Test in the Caribbean.
But the team management had clearly read the pitch correctly it played more like a subcontinent surface than a typical Caribbean one, and the extra spin option paid off massively on that fourth morning collapse. It’s a small decision that a lot of casual fans (including me, initially) questioned before the match, and it ended up being the difference maker.
Pakistan also handed Test debuts to a couple of new faces in this match, including seamer Ubaid Shah, which is always a bit of a gamble under pressure but it worked out fine here.
Why This Win Is a Bigger Deal Than It Looks
A couple of things make this more than just a routine series levelling win:
It was Pakistan’s first away Test win in three years. That’s not a small stat. Pakistan’s overseas Test record has been genuinely rough for a while now, so snapping that drought matters for morale heading into a much tougher assignment.
The series ended 1-1, which is actually the third series in a row between Pakistan and West Indies to finish exactly that way. There’s something almost funny about how evenly matched these two sides have been lately, series after series.
It’s a confidence boost right before Pakistan head into a three match Test series in England starting August 19 a series where they’ll need every bit of that momentum.
How I Actually Followed the Pakistan Beats West Indies in 2nd Test Match Without Losing My Mind
If you’re trying to follow an away Test series against West Indies without staying awake till 4 AM every single day, here’s what’s actually worked for me over the last few tours:
Step 1: Turn on push notifications, not just app installs. I use the ESPNcricinfo app and Cricbuzz side by side. Just having the app isn’t enough you need to go into settings and specifically enable score and wicket alerts for the match, or you’ll miss everything.
Step 2: Know where the actual broadcast is. In Pakistan, PTV Sports and A Sports usually carry these tours. If you’re in the US or Canada, Willow TV is your best bet for live streaming. Don’t rely on random livestream links floating around WhatsApp half of them buffer out right when a wicket falls.
Step 3: Check the scorecard depth, not just the headline score. This one changed how I watch cricket entirely. Instead of just glancing at “Pakistan 88/2,” open the partnership breakdown. It tells you who’s actually building the innings and who’s just there. That’s how I noticed Shafique’s innings was building into something big well before commentators started making a fuss about it.
Step 4: Follow the toss and team news before the match starts. The Sajid Khan for extra spinner decision was announced at the toss. If you only check scores mid session, you miss the context for why a team is bowling or batting a certain way.
Common Mistakes Fans Make Watching a Series Like This
Writing off a team or a captain after one match. A lot of people (again, me included) were ready to call Babar Azam’s captaincy comeback a failure after just the first Test. One match is never enough data.
Ignoring pitch and weather reports. The extra spinner call only makes sense if you understand the surface. Skip that context and the whole match feels random.
Trusting screenshots over the official scorecard. During the fourth morning collapse, a few “final score” screenshots were floating around group chats before the innings had even finished. Always check the live scorecard on ESPNcricinfo or the ICC site directly.
Judging series results in isolation. This is now the third straight 1-1 series between these two teams. Context from past tours tells you a lot more than a single result does.
What I keep coming back to with this match is how much a single overseas win can shift the mood around a team. A week ago, the group chat was full of “here we go again” messages about Pakistan’s away form. Now it’s genuinely optimistic talk about the England tour.
Shafique’s innings will get the headlines, and it deserves to. But the bigger story for me is that Pakistan’s team management actually trusted their read of the conditions over the safe, familiar selection and it worked. That’s the kind of thing that either becomes a turning point or a one off, and we’ll find out which one it is soon enough when the England series starts.
What was the final result of the Pakistan vs West Indies 2nd Test in 2026?
Pakistan won the second Test at Queen’s Park Oval, Port of Spain, by 8 wickets, chasing down a target of 75 after bowling West Indies out for 117 in their second innings.
Who won the Pakistan vs West Indies Test series?
The two-match series ended 1-1. West Indies won the first Test in Tarouba by 90 runs, and Pakistan won the second Test in Port of Spain by 8 wickets.
Who was Player of the Match in the 2nd Test?
Abdullah Shafique was Player of the Match for his innings of 160 not out in the first innings and 24 not out in the chase.
Where was the Pakistan vs West Indies 2nd Test played
It was played at the Queen’s Park Oval in Port of Spain, Trinidad, from August 2 to 5, 2026.
What’s next for Pakistan’s Test team after this series?
Pakistan travel to England for a three-match Test series starting August 19, 2026.
Bilal Ahmad
Bilal Ahmad is the Founder and Editor of GlobalNewsHubz. He writes about technology, world news, government schemes, and digital trends. His goal is to provide readers with accurate, well-researched, and easy-to-understand information using trusted and official sources.
