Pakistan triumphed over the West Indies in the shortest Test match ever played on Pakistani soil, securing a dominant 127-run victory in just 177.2 overs. The two teams were bowled out twice in a thrilling contest at Multan, completing the match in only 1054 balls (around 175.4 overs).
Pakistan batted first and posted a solid 280 runs, with a 100+ run partnership between Saud Shakeel and Muhammad Rizwan stabilizing the innings.
In reply, the West Indies crumbled to just 137 runs, with Pakistan’s spinners Sajid Khan and Noman Ali wreaking havoc and taking nine wickets between them.
The host team then extended their lead by adding 157 runs in their second innings, with West Indian bowler Jomel Warrican impressively claiming seven wickets.
In the final chase, the Windies were bowled out for 123 runs in 36.3 overs, with Sajid and Noman once again taking control to close out the match.
This victory marked a historic 127-run win for Pakistan, making it the shortest Test match on home soil.
The previous shortest Test in Pakistan also involved these two teams in 1990, when West Indies defeated Pakistan in Faisalabad in 1080 balls (180 overs).
Notably, the number of balls faced by West Indies across their two innings in Multan was by far the fewest they have faced in a Test match, where they lost all 20 wickets.
The previous record for the fewest balls was 450 balls in the 2000 Leeds Test against England. In a remarkable feat, Pakistan needed just 494 balls in the 2001 Multan Test against Bangladesh to claim all 20 wickets, marking the fewest balls needed for a team to take 20 wickets in a men’s Test.
Furthermore, the West Indies’ batting performance in Multan is now recorded as the fifth-fewest balls any team has batted in a men’s Test since 1910, where all 20 wickets were lost. It also stands as the ninth-fewest overall.
Meanwhile, Jomel Warrican, despite his team’s loss, etched his name in West Indies cricket history.
His seven-wicket haul of 7/32 in Pakistan’s second innings broke the record held by West Indian legends Malcolm Marshall (5/33 in Lahore, 1986) and Andy Roberts.
Warrican finished the match with 10 wickets, becoming the first West Indian to achieve a 10-wicket haul in Pakistan, surpassing Roberts’ previous best of 9/187 in 1975.
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