International Cricket

PAK vs WI Test Series 2026 Fielding Impact Card Decoded

Karthik Iyer 6 May 2026 Updated 6 May 2026 ~5 min read ~861 words

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Fielding impact cards are usually the last thing readers look at, but in a tightly fought three-Test series, they often explain the result more clearly than the bowling figures. Across the 2026 PAK vs WI Tests, the fielding margin came out to around 47 runs in Pakistan's favour, with West Indies dropping four high-leverage chances and Pakistan converting all eight of theirs. Here is the position-by-position card.

Headline numbers

Pakistan's outfield saved an estimated 38 runs across the series, with the slip cordon and gully accounting for 22 of those. West Indies' saving figure was a respectable 31, with Tagenarine Chanderpaul at short-leg producing two of the standout stops. The drop count, however, was the killer: West Indies dropped four to Pakistan's zero, with two of those drops costing 50-plus runs each.

Team	Catches	Drops	Runs saved	Runs conceded
Pakistan	28	0	38	12
West Indies	24	4	31	26

Slip cordon

Pakistan's primary slip cordon of Babar Azam, Saud Shakeel and Mohammad Rizwan held all 14 chances that came their way. Babar at first slip was particularly sharp, taking three diving catches across the series. West Indies' cordon, anchored by Kraigg Brathwaite at first slip, dropped two chances at second slip in the Karachi Test — both off Saud Shakeel before he had reached 30. The runs-saved gap in this position alone was 18.

Gully and short cover

Salman Ali Agha's gully positioning produced two of Pakistan's most important catches of the series, including the Athanaze edge in the third Test. West Indies used Roston Chase at gully and lost two chances there in the second Test. The runs-conceded difference at this position was 7.

Short-leg

The short-leg numbers are the one place West Indies clearly outperformed Pakistan. Tagenarine Chanderpaul took two sharp catches off Gudakesh Motie in the second Test and saved an estimated 6 runs through close-in stops. Pakistan's rotation between Saim Ayub and Saud Shakeel at short-leg was less effective, with one missed take in the first Test that allowed Jermaine Blackwood to add 38 more.

Boundary positions

The deep-cover and deep-midwicket positions are where Test fielding cards are usually settled in modern cricket, and Pakistan held the edge here too. Saim Ayub at deep-midwicket produced a one-handed save in the second Test that prevented a six and turned it into a single. Across the three Tests, Pakistan's boundary positions saved 12 runs more than West Indies. For the wider context, our Pakistan vs West Indies series statistical post-mortem covers the across-Tests numbers.

Wicketkeeping

Mohammad Rizwan ended the series with 18 catches and 2 stumpings — an extraordinary haul that points to both the quality of the spinners and the quality of his standing-up technique. Joshua Da Silva managed 14 catches and 1 stumping, with two missed takes off Motie in the third Test that proved costly. The runs-conceded difference at the keeper position was 9.

Costliest drops

The two costliest drops both went West Indies' way and both came in the third Test. Athanaze put down Saud Shakeel at second slip when the Pakistan number three was on 27 — he went on to make 207. Brathwaite missed a return catch from Babar Azam on 18 — he made 49. The two drops alone cost West Indies an estimated 209 runs.

What the card reveals

Fielding margins of 40-plus runs across a three-Test series are usually the kind of advantage that decides one Test in two. In this case, they shaped the deciding margin in Karachi. The contrast with the Pakistan fielder impact tracker shows the runs-saved-by-position pattern in granular form.

Forward look

West Indies need to address the slip catching specifically. The drops in Karachi came from technique — rushed hands rather than positioning — and the West Indies coaching staff are likely to add slip-catching as a daily session in pre-tour camps from here onwards. Pakistan, by contrast, can afford to be selective — their fielding levels held across all three Tests and look stable.