Kemar Roach says 'I am the tail' post West Indies' stunning win over Pakistan in 1st Test

Kemar Roach and Jayden Seales' gritty display with the bat against Pakistan pacers helped West Indies win the first Test by one wicket. The duo put on a dramatic 17-run partnership on Sunday to take the team to victory despite Pakistan having the upper hand in the match. Seales had earlier taken 5-55, his first five-wicket haul in tests, as the West Indies dismissed Pakistan for 203 in its second innings, leaving them 168 runs to win.

West Indies vs Pakistan: Kemar Roach on his batting performance

Kemar Roach after helping the team to victory in the West Indies vs Pakistan 1st Test said that the unbeaten 30 run inning was by far the best innings of his career and even said, “I’ve not been involved in that situation before, batting with the tail. I am the tail!”. Roach also praised young Seales for his effort calling him a future star. The 19-year-old Seales with his five-wicket haul became the youngest West Indies bowler to do so in test innings. 

Recap of WI vs PAK match result

The West Indies team did not have a great start to their run chase as they were reduced to 16-3 before a half-century by Jermaine Blackwood helped it advance to 111-6.  The match was in the balance when Jason Holder was out to the last ball before the tea interval with the West Indies on 114-7, still 54 runs from victory. The final session saw lot of drama with drop catch from Hasan Ali proving out to be the differential. Roach had earlier shared a partnership of 28 with Joshua Da Silva to keep the team in the match. When on 16 Roach's pull shot from Shaheen Afridi delivery which carried directly to Hasan Ali at deep square leg, however, the simple catch was dropped giving batsman lifeline.

Roach batted on with unbreakable determination to eke out every run. With six runs needed and Jayden Seales at the other end, the pacer edged a ball between the wicketkeeper and first slip. He then confidently struck a ball from Shaheen, wide of off stump, through cover for the winning runs. Shaheen Afridi (4-50) and Hasan Ali (3-37) bowled almost 34 overs for Pakistan on the last day and shared seven wickets. Hasan produced an outstanding all-around performance, scoring 28 from 26 balls at No. 9 to help Pakistan go past 200 in the second innings before he was the last man out.