Rauf still had the pace to generate additional bounce on a surface that remained firm throughout, with Marnus Labuschagne’s leading edge reaching third man. The next delivery prompted Glenn Maxwell to make a tentative push first, and the ball kissed the edge on its quick journey towards Mohammad Rizwan. Australia had lost three wickets without a run, in five balls, and Pakistan were back and looking favorites in a country where they had had minimal success.
“We all did our best, whether on the field or with the ball,” Rauf said after the game. “We had a plan to fall short from my side. We were successful; we took some wickets this way.”
Rauf regretted some of Pakistan’s oversight. They gave away 21 extras; Australia had conceded only four. Rauf himself sent a leg so long and at such a high pace that he went four and four more, while Naseem Shah bowled another five. Mohammad Hasnain, meanwhile, sent two wide shots well over the batsman’s head just as he took Australia’s seventh wicket, and the pressure immediately fell back on the visitors.
“We give away extras, but when you attack, you have to accept that these things happen,” Rauf said. “We made mistakes and were a bit haphazard. We know these little things have an impact. If you are a good bowling unit, then you can cover for batsmen who fall short by 20-30 runs if you adjust in the field. We were also able to defend it and we all tried with all our might. The game didn’t go the way we wanted, but we didn’t give up in terms of energy and effort.”
“We have memories on this ground that we look back on. We lost a couple of very close games here against India and the World Cup final,” Rauf said. “We have made mistakes in the past, but we try to stay in the present moment. The future is also not under our control and we are enjoying the present. Sometimes the result is not what you want and you have to do it.” accept that. And then you try to learn from those failures.”
