It was again a rough day for Shan Masood and the Pakistan team at the office. For once, it was thought that Pakistan were back to winning ways, especially at the home conditions after beating England in the series and West Indies in the 1st Test match.
West Indies made an inspiring comeback in the series after losing the 1st Test game, all thanks to Jomel Warrican who made an impact with bat and bowl.
During the 1st innings when West Indies were struggling, he stitched an important, match-winning, partnership with Motie scoring 36 runs and in the second innings, he took five wickets, completing his second five wicket haul of the series.
Reacting to the loss, the Pakistan captain Masood admitted Pakistan’s shortcoming and pointed out key lessons for the team moving forward.
“I think the only option left was to bring the fast bowler on and have a crack [on whether he could have done anything better on the first day]. They batted well, but that’s something that we have to learn. We have struggled to get the tail out here, something that we did well in Australia,” Masood said.
“It’s tough and you can easily look at the results and say we have not done well. I always say yes results matter a lot, but we are in the right direction”
“If we take out the Perth Test and the first one against England, there’s a way where we find ourselves with the hope and opportunity to win the Tests. We are going towards results instead of draws. Tests are ruthless, if you don’t seize the moment, you’re out of it.”
The lanky batsman also acknowledged that Pakistan could not capitalise on the momentum in the 1st innings after West Indies were 9 down for just 95.
“Even in the game we lost right now, the first day, we were in a position where we wanted to be. Just one bad performance led to a domino effect, but you can’t forget the way we have played right through. We have realized that one extra partnership can have a big effect on games, that’s what we want to learn quickly,” he added.
Masood also appreciated the individual performers of the team
“It’s a game of all stakeholders. Appreciate the players to be willing to throw themselves into the den without being used to it [on their batting failure],” he remarked.
“We did win 3 of the 4 Tests on such pitches. We did well in the first session here as well. It’s important to see some encouraging signs—when Saud and Rizzy got their fifties, I got a 60-ball fifty in the first Test, Babar contributed as well. We might not get those big hundreds, but you need to be proactive. Brathwaite took the game on with his 50, and that’s what we need to be aware of and probably be better going further,” Masood stated.
This was the last series of Pakistan in the ongoing World Test championship (WTC). The side finished at bottom with the percentage of 27.98, while West Indies finished eighth, just above Pakistan, with 28.21%.
