Pakistan’s captain refuses to blame injuries and pitches for team’s fruitless runs
The thrill of securing a tie in the dark might provide his rush of endorphins in and of itself, but Babar he Azam was clear enough to see the big picture. The Pakistan captain admitted his team had failed to live up to expectations during the home test season, ending in a 0-0 draw in its second test.
“The test season didn’t live up to expectations,” Babar said at the post-match press conference. Of course, there is also the matter of location, but the conditions differ depending on the location. We give our opinion on the pitch, but after receiving the pitch, we need to execute the plan. You can’t complain about losing a game on the pitch. I prepared according to plan, but the result did not go as planned. “
After her 3-0 loss to England last month, Pakistan was playing the majority of the second leg of a friendly against New Zealand. On the final day of matches, his side at home were satisfied with a draw. In the first Test, New Zealand claimed 77 runs with him taking nine wickets when the lights hit, but the referee kicked the ball away so the visitors only needed one wicket today. Further down the series against Australia and Pakistan, they have gone eight friendlies at home without winning for the second year in a row.
His third consecutive defeat at home was easily possible as Sarfaraz Ahmed was crushed with a leg in his 87th over. Pakistan number 11 Abrar Ahmed endured his final 15 minutes of nerve-wracking alongside Naseem Shah.
“It’s hard to play a new ball when the outfielders are moving, but Naseem and Abrar kept their nerve posthumously,” Babar said. “The way Saifi [Sarfaraz] came back and got out of the hole was great because his partnership with [Saud] Shakeel got us back in the game. He’s back for the first time in four years and made the dream comeback he’s been waiting for so many years. It was his faith that kept him going. “
However, it was charmingly balanced early on in this session. Sarfaraz and Saud Shakeel added 99 for the sixth wicket stand. The fast New Zealand bowler appeared to have run out of ideas, but his scoring average in the stands fell just short of his 2.25. This meant that Pakistan needed 140 runs to go in the final session and all four outcomes seemed possible.
Babar said Pakistan is aiming for victory at this point. “We were planning to try it with tea, but to do that you have to take risks. Back then you needed 4.5, but this requires taking risks.” , could lead to layoffs.Had we fallen out, you would have asked a very different question.New Zealand saw us challenged and opened the field. We are still taking risks, but things are a little different.
Agha Salman joins Sarfaraz, who was above triple figures at this point. His batting average was higher than any other Pakistan batsman at the time. He hit his four borders and New Zealand started looking a little ragged on the field. Two mistakes and his two byes further ruined the goal. But when Matt Henry was hitting old pitches again and got a wild shot from Salman, the outlook changed again.
“Agha came out, tails came in, and then he wanted to deepen his game,” Babar said. “Since Saifi was there, he was able to better judge where the game could go. When the wicket falls, it’s hard to start a new partnership. After the set hitters folded, we knew the tails were coming. In the past I have lost my last few wickets very quickly.
But pragmatism won out in the end, but Pakistan didn’t want to end their home season without a win. Until recently, when he was derailed by an injury earlier this season, the Test side pointed out that he was “very good.”
In an era of unrelenting cricket, he has come to emphasize the value of fitness. “Everyone has their own opinion, but you have to focus on performance. It takes time to build a team. We had some injuries that changed the shape of the team, we tried our best but it didn’t work out, we will look into using our testing experts in the future. With so much cricket, extreme fitness is required if you want to play all three formats. “