WI VS PAK - 3rd Test, Pakistan tour of West Indies, 2017

You might have seen photographs clicked but today was about how they are made. Misbah and Younis walk into the sunset and it will soon be time for Pakistan to stand up to the challenge, like West Indies did today, even in a loss. Emotional day, emotional Test match. See you on the other side of the night. It's a goodbye from Pratyush Sinha on behalf of Sriram and Vinod. Revel in the #MisYou. And take good care, ta-ta!

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Current mood in our content team:
* Pradeep Krishnamurthy: "End of an era. Pakistan will feel their absence"
* Shirshendu: "The win perfectly reflects their careers - Fairy-tale but not without struggles!"
* Sriram: "The phrase 'Misbah and Younis' has been used so often that the words have almost blended into one."
* Vineet Anantharaman: "Cricket has lost its loudest tuk"
* Srivathsa: "Mocked. Derided. Criticised. Targetted. But you ended up a hero. Oh Misbah - you will be missed!"

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A few nuggets about Misbah-ul-Haq
* Oldest player to score a Test hundred (114 vs England, Lord's, 2016, aged 42y 47d).
* Only player to have three scores of 99 in Tests.
* Holds the joint second-fastest Test hundred (off 56 ball vs Australia in Abu Dhabi).
* Has led his team to most wins outside home - 26.
* Put together 3213 partnership runs with Younis Khan - the most by a pair for Pakistan.

A few nuggets about Younis Khan
* Only Pakistan player to score 10,000+ Test runs
* 10099 runs & 34 hundreds - both the most for Pakistan in Tests
* Six double hundreds by him is the joint most by a Pakistan player alongside Javed Miandad
* Only player to score Test hundreds in all 11 countries
* One of the two players to average above 45 in all four innings; has 5 hundreds in fourth innings, the most by any

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A couple of plaques and cheques for Misbah and Younis. We hope the latter speaks too. Ah, he doesn't.

Yasir Shah - Man of the Series: I was trying to bowl a good ball right till the last ball I bowl. Was a good series for me; I have the most wickets in a series. I try to bowl with patience in Test cricket. Pressure wasn't there, because the wicket supported me. Although it was slow, there was break and bounce. (translated from Hindi/Urdu)

Misbah (2/2): "Special thanks to Younis. Wish him best of luck. It was a very fine journey with him, especially in the middle, sharing a lot of partnerships. And loved every moment of that. In the history books, my name will come with him. He's a legend. He's a top performer for Pakistan - 34 centuries and 10,000 runs. It's something special that my name will come with him. Thank you all. I really enjoyed my career. It's difficult (to talk about the emotions). When the game just hangs (till) an over before, it's difficult. Both teams were under pressure and it was a matter of nerves. Credit to the bowlers, who bowled their hearts out on a slow track, especially the seamers. Yasir came back for his spells like that. They believed in themselves that we are gonna make it, that we need it badly. And it was (to be) the first ever (series) win for Pakistan in the West Indies, so everyone was so motivated. A lot of frustrations, no ball, out, and then we dropped a couple of chances here and there. But you enjoy wins like that much more than a straightforward win. Family on your side is important, and so are the fans. My mother was the one who did a lot in my career. I might have forgotten names but I think whoever was with me, whoever played with me, I enjoyed that, and I think they have contribution in my life, and my career too."

Misbah - captain, Pakistan (1/2): "Nothing better than that (the win). Whatever success I got throughout my career and then especially an end like that, couldn't have asked for better. Want to thank my family, my mom and sisters, especially my wife who supported me a lot. And especially in this series. She convinced me to come. I would have finished in Australia but she felt I could go on. My son is not here; he will be just watching on TV and I'm missing him. He has his exams, so couldn't travel. Want to thank everyone, coaching staff, trainers, doctors, colleagues, teammates, class fellows, teachers who really supported me throughout my career and life, and who will be praying for me. And fans overall, throughout the world. It's not about Pakistan. Even here in West Indies, all the guys have been coming to me and wishing me all the best for the rest of the life. It's life. Everything has to end, whether it's bad or good. I am happy with what I had in this career. What a finish. Couldn't have asked for more."

Jason Holder - captain, West Indies: "Very proud of the team. Credit to the guys. Disappointed to lose the game. I think we are heading in the right direction. We are coming up against good teams. Pakistan were No. 1 not too long ago. We need to learn to seize crucial moments. I said to the guys that I was extremely proud of the way we fought. Lot of room for improvement. We had faith in our batting. Chase was outstanding, Gabriel too. Myself and Joseph chipped in as well. Test in Barbados was remarkable. Lot of positives. Credit to the Pakistanis. Want to congratulate Misbah and Younis for their outstanding careers. You've been ambassadors for world cricket."

Roston Chase - Man of the Match: "Just basically was trying to save the Test. I just say what you learn, practice it and fight hard. It is a learning experience. We fought hard and I thought it was a good effort by the guys. I had a good series but it wasn't good enough in the end. Hopefully, we can be on the winning side next time."

Time for presentations then..

And what Pakistan's win does is steal the thunder off Roston Chase's hundred, but it can only take away so much. Chase played a knock he will look back for inspiration. Yes, he had three lifelines: was dropped twice by Hasan Ali off his own bowling, and then was caught off Mohammad Abbas's no-ball, but take nothing away from that innings. I cannot dramatize it more. Hit on the gloves, shin, ankle, but he kept going, looking supremely in command against the spinners. And but for that shot from Gabriel, West Indies were six balls away from saving this Test. Not to be. Sometimes, it isn't.

Farewell scenes: Cameras pan to Misbah. Yasir Shah runs to him and gives him a long hug, smiling. And now Younis Khan runs to Misbah and gives him a long embrace. Another one. Both the retiring legends are sitting over the shoulders of their colleagues, with Pakistan's flag wrapped around them, and take the lap of honour, waving, smiling, all awkward from all the glares, with their families watching from the boundary sidelines. Chilling scenes here, and coming as the sun sets in Dominica, and on two great careers.

06:00pm local: There was rain. Floodlights. Emotions surrounding the retirements of two stalwarts. Even a rainbow. The context of the first ever series win in West Indies. The desire to bid farewell with a historic win. A good Dominican crowd. Umpiring blunders. DRS horrors. DRS rectification. West Indian resilience. Dropped catches. Roston Chase. Centuries. We had everything. Even if you had to write a script for Younis and Misbah's farewell, you couldn't have written it any better.

Yasir Shah to Gabriel, out Bowled!! Thus ends a famous Test match. Pakistan take the series 2-1 to have their first ever series win in West Indies. And with that fellas, Misbah-ul-Haq and Younis Khan retire, too. Yasir Shah's change in angle has brought about the mistake by a No.11. This was the last ball of the series that Yasir would have bowled, and he fires it flat from over the wicket. All was okay, the ball could have been defended until Gabriel had a mad rush of blood. Decided to slog it and shot an inside edge onto the stumps. Clatter. Win. People run. Hug. Tears. Drama. Gabriel b Yasir Shah 4(22) [4s-1]

Yasir Shah to Gabriel, THATS OUT!! Bowled!!