It is not difficult to know what's coming this Test match. It is an easy one to analyse, a straightforward one to predict. West Indies will have prepared studiously for the challenge Pakistan will pose, and Pakistan, themselves, have made no secret they will double down on the nature of the surfaces they prepare. The wicket might begin to break up when the two captains head out for the toss. Whoever wins will bat first, and spin bowling will feature right from the outset.

But forewarned is not necessarily forearmed. The challenge Pakistan pose with these surfaces that crackle in the winter heat is much easier to understand than to do anything about. The outcome of the game hinges on West Indies' execution; any mistakes they made in terms of understanding what kind of pitch this was will have been ironed out.

Pakistan: WLLWW (last five completed matches, most recent first)

In the spotlight - Shan Masood and Alick Athanaze

Pakistan have not yet named an XI, with Aqib Javed saying they would take a final look at the surface.

Pakistan (likely XI): 1 Shan Masood (capt) 2 Muhammad Hurraira 3 Babar Azam 4 Kamran Ghulam 5 Saud Shakeel 6 Mohammad Rizwan (wk) 7 Salman Agha 8 Noman Ali 9 Sajid Khan 10 Abrar Ahmed 11 Khurram Shahzad

West Indies, too, have yet to name a starting line-up. Jayden Seales misses out with a slightly niggle in his leg. Kemar Roach is available again alongside Amir Jangoo.

West Indies: 1 Kraigg Brathwaite (capt) 2 Mikyle Louis 3 Keacy Carty 4 Alick Athanaze 5 Kavem Hodge 6 Justin Greaves 7 Tevin Imlach/Amir Jangoo (wk) 8 Gudakesh Motie 9 Kevin Sinclair 10 Jomel Warrican 11 Kemar Roach

The pitch has been prepared in the same way as the one for the first Test was. Weather conditions have not changed in the week since, and it remains cold and dry. Any deviation from what happened in the first Test would be a surprise.

"Of course we were right to prepare a spin pitch against West Indies. Their batters are not as proficient against spin when compared to fast bowling."
Pakistan interim head coach Aaqib Javed makes no apologies for preparing a spin-friendly pitch in Multan.

"I've played on surfaces that spun from day one, but this was the first time I've seen such cracks on a pitch on day one."
West Indies captain Kraigg Brathwaite says he has never seen a pitch break up so early in quite the way the Multan surface did for the first Test.