Some days in cricket give you everything at once — joy, heartbreak, redemption, and relief, all packed into a single, breathless session. The Pakistan vs West Indies 2nd Test Day 3 was exactly that kind of day. It began with Pakistan sitting pretty at 266 for 2, dreaming of a big first-innings lead. By the time the sun set over Queen’s Park Oval in Port of Spain, fans had lived through a stomach-churning batting collapse, a captain’s painful dismissal, and a spin-fuelled comeback so dramatic it felt scripted for the movies.
This is the full story of how Abdullah Shafique’s monumental 160, Babar Azam’s heartbreaking run-out for 88, and Sajid Khan’s inspired four-wicket burst turned Day 3 into one of the most emotional sessions of cricket Pakistan has played in years. 
Table of Contents
- Where Pakistan Stood Overnight
- The Morning That Went Wrong
- Babar Azam’s Painful Exit
- Abdullah Shafique’s Lonely, Magnificent 160
- The Collapse: Pakistan’s Last Eight Wickets for 106
- Sajid Khan Turns the Tide
- West Indies Stumble to 103 for 6
- What This Means Heading Into Day 4
- Final Thoughts
Where Pakistan Stood Overnight
To feel the full weight of Pakistan vs West Indies 2nd Test Day 3, you need to remember the mood the night before. Pakistan had ended Day 2 at a commanding 266 for 2, just 78 runs behind West Indies’ first-innings total of 344. Abdullah Shafique was unbeaten on 107, Babar Azam was batting beautifully on 86, and for the first time in a long while, Pakistani fans allowed themselves to dream of a genuine first-innings lead. Nobody could have predicted just how much drama the next day would bring.
The Morning That Went Wrong
Test cricket has a cruel habit of punishing complacency, and Day 3 began with an uncomfortable reminder of that truth. West Indies’ bowlers, Jayden Seales and Jomel Warrican in particular, came out with far greater discipline than the day before, starving the batters of anything loose. Babar Azam, who had looked so fluent and free-scoring on Day 2, suddenly found himself frozen — adding just two runs in 21 deliveries as the required patience turned into visible tension.
It was a stark, almost painful shift. The same batter who had been striking the ball with authority just hours earlier now looked like a man carrying the weight of an entire nation’s four-year wait for a Test century.
Babar Azam’s Painful Exit 
And then it happened — the moment that changed the entire complexion of the day. Desperate to get off strike and searching for any kind of rhythm, Babar Azam set off for a single that was never really there. Shafique, sensibly, sent him back. But Babar was already committed, and West Indies’ Brandon King produced a stunning direct hit from point to catch the Pakistan captain agonizingly short of his crease.
Babar Azam was gone for 88, dismissed just short of what would have been his first Test century in almost four years — a cruel, gut-punch of a moment for a player who had worked so hard to rediscover his best form. The dugout fell silent. Fans who had been celebrating his fluency just a day earlier now had to watch him walk off, head down, agonizingly close to the milestone he craved most.
There was a strange twist to the incident too — the throw that ran Babar out left Brandon King with a lower back spasm, and the West Indies fielder had to be helped off the ground on a stretcher. A moment of triumph for West Indies came shadowed by real concern for their own player’s welfare.
Abdullah Shafique’s Lonely, Magnificent 160 
While wickets tumbled around him, one man refused to blink. Abdullah Shafique, already the hero of Day 2 for his century, produced something even more special on Day 3 — a lonely, defiant, unbeaten 160 that single-handedly kept Pakistan’s innings from total collapse.
Shafique’s innings on this day wasn’t about flashy strokeplay; it was about survival, responsibility, and sheer will. As partners came and went at the other end, he adjusted his game completely — cutting out risk, rotating strike, and absorbing pressure that would have broken lesser players. Every run he added felt earned the hard way, each one carrying just a little more of Pakistan’s hopes on his shoulders.
For a player who had been in and out of the side, who had to fight his way back into this very Test as a late replacement, this innings was the ultimate statement. Shafique didn’t just save Pakistan’s innings on Day 3 — he gave it dignity.
The Collapse: Pakistan’s Last Eight Wickets for 106
Here’s where the heartbreak deepened. After Babar’s dismissal, Pakistan’s last eight wickets fell for just 106 runs — a self-destructive slide that turned a position of total dominance into a nervy, uncertain finish. Pakistan were eventually bowled out for 387, with Jomel Warrican finishing with excellent figures of 6 for 112.
It was the kind of collapse that Pakistan fans know all too painfully well — the sort that turns commanding positions into nail-biting ones. And yet, thanks to Shafique’s unbeaten heroics, the total of 387 still gave Pakistan a first-innings lead of 43 runs, a lead that felt both hard-earned and strangely fragile given how the morning had unfolded.
Sajid Khan Turns the Tide 
Just when it looked like Pakistan’s momentum had completely evaporated, the team found its saviour with the ball. Off-spinner Sajid Khan produced a spell of pure craft and control, tearing through the West Indies top order with figures of 4 for 32. His fingerspin, so often Pakistan’s biggest weapon in these conditions, found turn and bounce that the West Indies batters simply had no answer for.
Alongside him, fellow spinner Ali Usman chipped in with two important wickets of his own, and together the pair completely dismantled the rhythm West Indies had built earlier in the day. It was a reminder of exactly why Sajid Khan has become one of Pakistan’s most valuable performers in the current World Test Championship cycle — a bowler who thrives precisely when his team needs him most.
West Indies Stumble to 103 for 6
By the time bad light and the close of play arrived, West Indies had been reduced to a stunning 103 for 6, holding a slender lead of just 60 runs. A day that started with Pakistan cruising and ended with a mid-innings collapse somehow finished with Pakistan firmly back in control — proof of just how wildly this Test had swung.
What This Means Heading Into Day 4
Heading into Day 4, Pakistan will resume knowing that a strong morning session with the ball could put them in a position to level this series. With West Indies still 60 runs behind and only four second-innings wickets in hand for recognised batters, Pakistan’s spinners have a golden opportunity to bowl the hosts out cheaply and set up a gettable target.
For a team that has endured so many heartbreaks in recent years, this Test has offered something rare: a genuine chance at redemption on the road. Shafique’s bat and Sajid’s spin have given Pakistan the platform. Now it’s about finishing the job.
Final Thoughts
Pakistan vs West Indies 2nd Test Day 3 will be remembered as a day of contrasts — the pain of Babar Azam falling agonizingly short of a century he has craved for four years, the collapse that nearly wasted a golden position, and yet, through it all, the quiet brilliance of Abdullah Shafique and the inspired spin of Sajid Khan pulling Pakistan back from the brink.
This is why we love Test cricket. It breaks your heart in the morning and mends it by tea. Whatever happens over the final two days in Port of Spain, Day 3 proved one thing beyond doubt — this Pakistan side still has fight in it. Booyah!