Pakistan have been on a roll since their 2-2 series draw in England in August, which briefly lifted them to number one position in world cricket`s Test rankings for the first time.

Arch-rivals India relegated Pakistan to number two with recent victory over New Zealand but Misbah-ul-Haq`s men have a prime opportunity to close the gap in the three-match series against the West Indies and are strong favourites.

Pakistan captain Misbah said he was relishing the prospect of a day-night Test, where play will be from 3:30 pm to 10:30 pm (1130 GMT to 1830 GMT) with two breaks of 30 minutes, in what is nominally a “home” series for Pakistan.

“It`s exciting because I think the future belongs to day-night Tests,” said Misbah, whose team will be missing senior batsman Younis Khan, recovering from dengue fever.

Pakistan have included in-form batsman Babar Azam, 21, for his first Test after he racked up 360 runs during the one-day series against the West Indies.

But misfiring openers Mohammad Hafeez and Shan Masood have been axed from the squad which levelled the four-match Test series against England.

The West Indies, routed by Pakistan 3-0 in both Twenty20 and one-day series preceding the Tests, come in as clear underdogs.

Coach Phil Simmons, who guided them to the World Twenty20 title in April this year, was sacked prior to this tour after the team lost 2-0 to India in a four-match series in August.

But captain Jason Holder said the West Indies — down in eighth in the Test rankings — are ready to bounce back.

“We have some new faces in Tests so we will do our best,” said Holder.

Experts, however, see Pakistan`s spin duo of Yasir Shah and Zulfiqar Babar proving too much for the spin-wary West Indian batsmen, especially in the unfamiliar day-night format with the pink ball and under lights. Australia staged the inaugural day-night Test against New Zealand in Adelaide last November — the first in Test cricket`s 140-year history.

The innovation has been brought in to address the dwindling crowds in Test cricket — floodlit matches encourage those at work during the day to attend — and has met with initial success.

The Adelaide Test attracted 123,000 spectators and an average television audience of two million.

But players from both sides complained about the pink ball’s movement and durability, as well as the difficulty batsmen faced seeing it under lights.

Pakistan have accumulated more experience than the West Indies under lights, adopting the coloured ball concept six years ago for the final of their domestic premier first-class tournament.

Pakistan have more than one reason to do well in Dubai — as well as grabbing a slice of Test history the match is their 400th Test since playing their first in India in 1952.

A win will not only cap a historic occasion but will also give Pakistan momentum for their pink-ball Tests in Australia in December.

The remaining two Tests against the West Indies will be in Abu Dhabi (October 21-25) and Sharjah (October 30-November 3).

Teams (from): Pakistan: Misbah-ul-Haq (captain), Azhar Ali, Sami Aslam, Asad Shafiq, Babar Azam, Sarfraz Ahmed, Mohammad Nawaz, Mohammad Amir, Wahab Riaz, Yasir Shah, Zulfiqar Babar, Rahat Ali, Sohail Khan, Imran Khan

West Indies: Jason Holder (captain), Kraigg Brathwaite (vice captain), Devendra Bishoo, Jermaine Blackwood, Carlos Brathwaite, Darren Bravo, Roston Chase, Miguel Cummins, Shane Dowrich, Shannon Gabriel, Shai Hope, Leon Johnson, Alzarri Joseph, Marlon Samuels, Jomel Warrican

Umpires: Richard Illingworth (ENG) and Paul Reiffel (AUS) TV umpire: Ian Gould (ENG), Match referee: Jeff Corwe (NZL).

India, who had reclaimed the top spot in the Test rankings after taking an unassailable 2-0 series lead in Kolkata, won the third and final Test by 321 runs Tuesday to consolidate their position.

Batting legend and ICC Hall of Famer Sunil Gavaskar presented Kohli with the mace on behalf of the International Cricket Council at Indore’s Holkar Stadium.

Kohli was only the second India captain after Mahendra Singh Dhoni and the 10th overall to receive the mace since its introduction in 2001.

The others are Steve Waugh, Ricky Ponting, Michael Clarke, Steve Smith (Australia), Andrew Strauss (England), Graeme Smith, Hashim Amla (South Africa) and Misbah-ul-Haq (Pakistan).

India are now four points in the ratings above arch-rivals Pakistan, who enjoyed the top spot only briefly after Misbah received the mace last month in Lahore.

“I’ve got a few Man of the Match awards, so have the boys. This is much more special. The last time India got the mace, I was watching on TV,” said a delighted Kohli.

“The key right now is maintaining our game. We’re working really hard on the areas needing improvement and we’ve been able to correct the wrongs quickly and we’d like to continue that and give the people what they want to see.”

India had replaced Australia at the top of the rankings after their series win against the West Indies in August, only to be leapfrogged by Pakistan later.

“The number-one ranking has changed hands three times in as many months, indicative of the current competitiveness of Test cricket,” ICC chief executive Dave Richardson was quoted as saying in a release

Australia quick Peter Siddle believes Pakistan’s Test squad is better equipped than ever to handle a tour of Australia ahead of their three-match series Down Under this summer.

Siddle identified the depth of the Pakistanis’ pace attack alongside brilliant leg-spinner Yasir Shah as key to their rise to number one in the Test rankings.

“Pakistan have surprised us over the last 12 months or so, they’ve started playing some consistent cricket,” Siddle told cricket.com.au’s The Unplayable Podcast.

“They’ve got some star players but they’ve been a lot more consistent with the sides they’re putting out there – they’re not chopping and changing and I think that’s where they’ve missed out in the past.

“At the moment it looks like they’ve got a pretty settle group of 13, 14 players that they go with. With a couple of injuries to bowlers, they’ve had bowlers come in and perform well, so that’s exciting for them.

“I think their squad will be suited to Australian conditions, probably more so than in the past.

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“They’ve got explosive players who can take the game away from you, and they’ve got a good assortment of quicks at the moment.

“They’ve actually got some fast bowlers that will be able to make it work on the wickets out here, and put us under a bit of pressure, so that’s a big challenge for us.”

Chief protagonists in that pace attack are likely to be left-arm quicks Wahab Riaz – who tormented the likes of Michael Clarke and Shane Watson with a stunning spell in Adelaide during the 2015 World Cup – and Mohammad Amir, who took eight wickets in the two Tests he played in Australia in 2009-10

Amir is the only member of coach Mickey Arthur’s fast-bowling group that played Tests in England to have played the five-day game in Australia, a country in which Pakistan have won just four of the 32 Tests they’ve contested.

However the first Test in Brisbane – a day-night affair with the pink ball – could help the Pakistani quicks find their feet in conditions more conducive to swing.

“I think people probably didn’t think that much about Pakistan coming out here this summer, but you look at their performances in England on wickets, not quite the same as here, but similar, and they’ve played well,” Siddle said of the 2-2 drawn series that culminated in Pakistan rising to No.1 in the world.

“So with South Africa for three Tests, and Pakistan for three Tests, it’s a big summer for us and one where we have to play some good cricket to get back that number one mantle.”

The Victorian quick, who has returned to bowling off a short run after a lengthy injury lay-off and is again likely to feature in Australia’s six-Test summer, was also conscious of the threat posed by Yasir, as well as Pakistan’s experienced middle order.

“They’ve got a class spinner, Yasir Shah, he’s unbelievable,” Siddle added. “He’s got a great record and he’s approaching 100 wickets at the quickest rate.

“The great Shane Warne has worked with him a little bit and has talked up how good he is.

“Then you’ve got the old heads, Misbah-ul-Haq and Younis Khan just hold that middle-order together.”

Australia’s three-Test series against Pakistan begins on December 15 in Brisbane, and is followed by the traditional MCG Boxing Day and SCG New Year’s (January 3) clashes.

Root scored 88 and 71 in the Dubai Test, which has helped him reclaim the top spot from Australia captain Steven Smith. Root, who entered the Test trailing Smith by 13 points, now leads the Australian by just three points. This means the Yorkshire batsman will have to perform strongly in the third Test, starting in Sharjah from Sunday, to retain the position he first achieved following the Trent Bridge Test against Australia in August.

Younus Khan, Pakistan captain Misbah-ul-Haq and Asad Shafiq have also reaped the rewards of good performances in the Dubai Test, which went down to the wire.

Younus has returned to the top five in fifth position following knocks of 56 and 118, Misbah has moved up five places to 11th following his scores of 102 and 87, and Asad Shafiq has achieved a career-high ranking of 12th after he scored 83 and 87. For this performance, Asad has earned 43 points, which, in turn, has put him ahead of Virat Kohli, Ross Taylor, Shivnarine Chanderpaul, Brendon McCullum and Faf du Plessis.

AFP

A monumental 117 by Azhar Ali may not be sufficient to deprive a probable Sri Lankan victory against Pakistan at the P. Sara Oval as they are in pursuit of 153 runs to win and square the three Test series. The Pakistanis were dismissed for 329 in their second innings at the stroke of tea on the fourth day of the second Test yesterday.

Play was called off before Sri Lanka began their run chase around 4.00 pm due to rain with Sri Lanka needing 153 runs to win. Play is scheduled to commence at 9.45 am today.

Spearheaded by an inspired spell of medium pace bowling by Dammika Prasad who took 4 for 92 in the second innings and 3 wickets in the first innings and also striking an useful 35 runs while batting has contributed immensely towards the success of the team in the on going Test.

Scores

Sri Lanka 1st Innings
Dimuth Karunaratne c S. Ahemad b W. Riaz 21
Kaushal Silva c S. Ahemad b Z. Babar 125
Kumar Sangakkara c Y. Khan b W. Riaz 50
Lahiru Thirimanne c Z. Babar b M. Hafeez 08
Angelo Mathews b W. Riaz 19
Dinesh Chandimal b Z. Babar 23
Kithuruwan Vithanage c and b M. Hafeez 18
Dilruwan Perera c S. Ahmad b Yasir Shah 15
Dhammika Prasad b Z. Babar 00
Rangana Herath not out 06
Nuwan Pradeep c and b Y. Shah 04
Extras (lb 5, w2, nb4) 22
Total (all out, 109.3) 300
Fall of wicket: 1-30, 2-142, 3-154 ,4-189,5-226, 6- 261,6-261,7-277, 8-288,9-291, 10-300 Bowling: Junaid Khan 16-5-38-0(1w), Wahab Riaz 26-3-74-3(4nb,1w), Z. Babar 27-8-64-3 , Yasir Shah 30.3-6-79-2 , Mohammad Hafeez 10-0-40-2

Scores

Pakistan 1st Innings
Mohammad Hafeez c Karunaratne b Prasad 02
Ahmed Shehzad lbw Prasad 09
Azhar Ali lbw Herath 08
Younis Khan b Perera 47
Misbah-ul-Haq c Sangakkara b Pradeep 20
Asad Shafiq not out 14
Sarfraz Ahmad not out 15
Extras (nb3) 03
Total (for 5 wickets :41.4 overs) 118
Fall of wickets: 1-2 , 2-11, 3-35,4-86 ,5- 96
Bowling: Dhammika Prasad, 9-2-24-2 Nuwan Pradeep 9-1-36-1, Rangana Herath 12.4-3-33-1,Dilruwan Perera 9-2-23-1, Angelo Mathews 2-1-2-0