Match: Pakistan v West Indies, 1st Test
Date: 13 October, Thursday to 17 October, Monday
Time: 7:30pm SGT/5pm IST/12:30pm BST
Venue: Dubai International Cricket Stadium
TV Channel: In Singapore, the live coverage of the 1st Test match between Pakistan and New Zealand will be on Ten Cricket.
Overview
Pakistan host West Indies in their first-ever day-night Test match at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium from 13 October.
The Dubai Test will also be only the second pink-ball Test after the inaugural match between Australia and New Zealand in November 2015 at the Adelaide Oval.
Pakistan, who were recently dethroned from the top spot in International Cricket Council Test rankings by India, will be geared up to play pink-ball cricket against the struggling West Indies, who lost both the One Day International and Twenty20 series to the hosts.
Also Misbah's men come into the series following a successful tour to England earlier this year, in which they shared the honours with Alastair Cook's side in the four-match Test series.
While Pakistan were helped by their fast bowling trio of Wahab Riaz, Mohammad Amir and Sohail Khan in the pace-friendly England conditions, Yasir Shah and Co. will play a crucial role for the hosts in the United Arab Emirates.
Shah along with experienced left-arm spinner Zulfiqar Babar have shown what they are capable of in the subcontinent conditions and the addition of all-rounder Muhammad Nawaz will add firepower to the spin bowling unit.
In the absence of veteran Younis Khan in the batting line-up, Pakistan are likely to hand a Test debut for Babar Azam on Thursday. The top-order batsman smashed three tons in the 3-0 ODI whitewash against the West Indies and will look to carry on with his form in the landmark Test.
ODI skipper Azhar Ali and Sami Aslam are likely to occupy the opening slots after all-rounder Mohammad Hafeez was dropped following a poor England series. Skipper Misbah and wicketkeeper-batsman Sarfraz Ahmed have been in fine form and are likely to put a heavy price on their wickets.
"It is exciting because I think the future belongs to day-night Tests," Misbah spoke ahead of the match in Dubai, which will also be Pakistan's 400th Test match, as quoted by the ICC's official website.
West Indies, on the other hand, have been struggling in the longest format of the game with their last series win coming against Bangladesh in 2014. Jason Holder's men were recently handed a 2-0 thrashing at home by India.
After repeated batting failures, West Indies have included new faces in the team. 22-year-old Shai Hope, who has played six Tests, impressed with two half-centuries in the warm-up games and is likely to earn a place in the playing XI.
A lot will depend on how the senior campaigners Marlon Samuels and Darren Bravo stand up against the Pakistani spinners. The left-hander has also remained apprehensive about the pink ball citing visibility problems.
"I think most of the guys have complained about the fact that they're not really able to pick up the seam that well. I don't know for whatever reason, but we can't do anything about it," Bravo said.
Holder's unit will be well served if spinner Devendra Bishoo and Roston Chase, who impressed with his all-round abilities against India, make use of the conditions in the UAE. However, the West Indies have to come up with a solid effort if they are stop Pakistan from running away with the series.
TV Schedule
Singapore: Ten Cricket
India: Ten 3
Pakistan: PTV Sports
US: Willow TV
UK: Zee
Team News
Pakistan
Possible XI: Misbah-ul-Haq (c), Sami Aslam, Azhar Ali, Asad Shafiq, Babar Azam, Sarfraz Ahmed (wk), Mohammad Nawaz, Yasir Shah, Wahab Riaz, Mohammad Amir, Sohail Khan
West Indies
Possible XI: Jason Holder (c), Kraigg Brathwaite, Leon Johnson, Darren Bravo, Marlon Samuels, Shai Hope, Roston Chase, Shane Dowrich (wk), Devendra Bishoo, Alzari Joseph, Shannon Gabriel
