Pakistan head coach Azhar Mahmood didn’t mince his words while upbraiding his batters for their reckless shot selection, which resulted in the hosts throwing away a position of near complete dominance against the World Test Champions South Africa in the first Test at Lahore’s Gaddafi Stadium.
Leading by 259 runs on a rapidly deteriorating surface with six wickets in hand, Pakistan appeared impregnable. Within the next 45 minutes, Pakistan were bundled out, losing six wickets for a mere 17 runs, setting a 277-run target for the visitors, an unlikely yet achievable total.
“We put ourselves in this situation [where South Africa have a chance in the game]. We were 150 for 4, and then lost 6 for 17. No one is to blame but our shot selection and decision-making,” Mahmood said at the press conference as quoted from ESPNcricinfo.
“It’s simple. If you lose 6 for 17, that’s not ideal. The pitch allowed the ball to break, but the pitch didn’t get anyone out. Our shot selection was not good. This is something we need to improve. If we’re going to play on these pitches, we have to have the patience to bat on them,” he added.
Mahmood’s frustration likely stemmed from Pakistan losing wickets in clusters, not just once, but on numerous occasions. Even in the first innings of the ongoing Test, Pakistan exposed its vulnerability, losing three wickets without adding a run, slumping from 199/2 to 199/5.
A 163-run partnership between Mohammad Rizwan and Salman Agha came to Pakistan’s rescue before another collapse unravelled, with the last five disintegrating for 16 runs.”Against England, we played on a used pitch, and then it spun a lot versus the West Indies. But on this pitch, if you bat well, it gets easier. Because the pitch is slow, it’s hard for a newcomer to get set. In the first innings, we had starts, but we couldn’t convert 50s to 100s. In the second innings, Abdullah [Shafique] and Babar [Azam] scored 40s, but we’d like to see them turn into big scores,” Mahmood said.
“It’s not easy, but we have to adapt different kinds of shots to improve our scoring options on these pitches. The middle and lower order tried, but the pressure got to them. At tea, we wanted to bat the whole session, but we did not. We made those mistakes, and we will have a look at that in the future,” he added.
After falling for a golden duck in the first, Saud Shakeel emerged as Pakistan’s best hope to blow South Africa away from the game. As tea loomed, Shakeel ticked up to 38 and looked poised for a long stay on the crease. However, on the stroke of the break, he tried to launch Senuran Muthusamy towards square leg but didn’t get the desired timing or elevation and holed out to Tristan Stubbs. The particular dismissal seemed to have riled up Mahmood.
“You understand in Test cricket when you’re vulnerable, and it’s often at the end of sessions. Saud Shakeel played that expansive lofted shot just before tea. It was unnecessary to put that pressure on himself at that stage. After tea, [Mohammad] Rizwan got out immediately,” he said.
“We sent in Shaheen [Shah Afridi] to up the ante, but the other batters didn’t have to play the same high-risk shots. Even if we had added 25-30 runs when we sent Shaheen in, that would have been hugely advantageous to us,” he added.
