International Cricket

PAK vs WI 3rd Test Day 5 Result Recap, Multan May 17 2026

Vikram Joshi 19 May 2026 Updated 19 May 2026 ~5 min read ~815 words

Pakistan team celebrating Test win at Multan stadium

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Pakistan wrapped the third Test against West Indies on day 5, May 17, at Multan to take the series 2-1. The final day required only a single session of bowling, with West Indies resuming on 198 for 9 and losing the last wicket inside 22 minutes of play. The Player of the Match conversation has three credible candidates, the series MVP debate has settled, and Pakistan's home Test campaign closes on a tone of cautious optimism. Here is the day-5 wrap and the larger series math.

The day-5 close

Day 5 lasted only 5.3 overs. Sajid Khan removed the last batter with the second ball of his second over, finishing the innings with figures of 6 for 51 and confirming his Player of the Match award. Pakistan's margin of victory was 53 runs, a closer scoreline than the day-4 collapse suggested because the West Indies tail had added 28 in their final partnership before falling on day 5. The Multan pitch held its shape through the final morning, with two more deliveries showing turn-and-bounce that beat the bat. The Test was effectively decided in the day-4 evening session.

POM analysis: Sajid, Noman, or Babar

Sajid Khan's match figures of 9 for 98 across both innings were the obvious POM call. Noman Ali contributed 6 for 91 from 38 overs and arguably broke more partnerships than Sajid did in the West Indies first innings. Babar Azam's 124 in the Pakistan first innings was the bat performance that gave the bowlers a total to defend, and it came on a pitch where every other top-order batter struggled. The match-referee panel settled on Sajid for the headline impact, but our model gives Babar a marginal edge on win-share because his runs were on a tougher batting day. Noman is the underrated story of the series.

The series wrap

Pakistan took the series 2-1, having lost the first Test in Rawalpindi, won the second in Karachi, and now closed the third in Multan. The series MVP debate is between Babar (456 runs at 91.2) and Sajid (18 wickets at 19.7). The selectors will look at the seam contribution from Naseem Shah and Shaheen Afridi as the area for review; Pakistan's home seamers averaged 41 across the series, with the workload split that left them undercooked for the spin-dominant finale. West Indies' positive is Roston Chase's emergence as a senior all-rounder; his 312 runs and 11 wickets across the three Tests put him in the WI Test captaincy conversation.

What this means for the WI tour

The West Indies T20I series begins next week at Tarouba, and the squad for that series is younger and built differently. The Test squad regrouping conversation is less about personnel and more about preparation: WI's Test side has struggled in spin conditions for a decade, and a winter A-tour to a subcontinent venue is the most-discussed remedy in the WI media. For Pakistan, the next Test assignment is the away tour to Bangladesh in July, which will be a different kind of spin challenge against a more disciplined left-arm orthodox attack.

What it means

Multan's third Test sealed a Pakistan home series win and confirmed Sajid Khan and Noman Ali as the first-choice spin pair for the foreseeable future. The POM call recognises Sajid's match-defining day-4 spell. The series win does not erase concerns over Pakistan's seam workload, and the WI loss does not erase Roston Chase's individual brilliance. Both sides will read this series differently, but the result column says 2-1 to the hosts.