Pak vs Eng, 2nd Test: Shan Masood hails ‘remarkable Pakistan cricket victory’

“This was a very important victory for Pakistan cricket,” he said. “The recent results were unacceptable. There is relief. This is a long process and journey. It will not be fixed overnight. It has been three years and 10 months since we last won a home test. That is not acceptable for Pakistan cricket. We are proud of how well we played this match and how we see ourselves as a team to get a result and hopefully start something here on our own terms is exciting. for years and still get a result. That’s the character you want from your players, staff and cricket board. They all responded well after the end. [first Test] loss that is very encouraging.”

Masood, however, said Pakistan had not changed its thinking on the only issue that really mattered. “I said it in defeat and I will say it in victory: 20 wickets are non-negotiable in Test matches,” he said. “The conditions in the fourth innings are only favorable for batting about 10% of the time. We have to understand our conditions and first think about what combinations get us 20 wickets. We need great first innings with the bat and then the bowlers to back us up.” The advantage took the pressure off of us in the third inning and the 75-run lead helped us because we scored 220 or so. [that] resulted in a target of almost 300 runs.”

Masood claimed that the central gamble at the heart of Pakistan’s lucrative tactic at this pace still. Perhaps the most notable feature of the game was when the coin flip was tossed before the first ball was tossed. Ben Stokes called tails, as he always does, and when the coin pointed the other way, the tactic had paid off.

The rest were sorted through two of the spinners they installed, with Sajid and Noman splitting the 20 wickets between the two: the first hour, two players were responsible for all the opposition wickets since 1972, and only the second hour in Pakistan’s historical past. In the second innings, denying the alternate bowler even became his arm as England were bundled out in 33.3 overs.

“Today we are just concentrating on how to take eight wickets,” Masood said. “Since I came in, we have had no problem taking risks. We have tried to play cricket that produces results, and we have also lost many matches doing that. When the selection committee came in, we all all had one concern: taking 20 wickets. Just we had taken 20 wickets once during my tenure. We looked at the conditions and realized that playing on a used surface and giving an advantage to the spinners. [could work]. We thought why not try something different.

“You’ll have to give credit to Noman and Sajid for the way they came back. It looked like two experienced campaigners bowling for Pakistan. You need to take those risks to try and accelerate 20 wickets, no matter what rough pitch we do it in.” .

It has been a familiar refrain for Masood in this series, where the outcome has justified the somewhat extreme methods adopted by Pakistan. This is, as he noted, only the second time in seven Test matches under his captaincy that Pakistan has managed to take 20 wickets. He said Pakistan will be guided by the most efficient route from now on, no matter what.

It is a subtle departure from the message of belligerent positivity that Masood has preached for most of his tenure, but at some point, idealism had to be abandoned at the altar of pragmatism. The question remains what Pakistan will do in Rawalpindi, an area that has never been susceptible to prodigious changes. And while Masood said Pakistan would need to understand the conditions at each specific venue, there was little attempt to hide what Pakistan really wanted from the pitch for the third Test.

“ID [like it to spin]. I don’t know if I’ve noticed it in Rawalpindi, so it’s an issue. We hope that the sun can play in your section and that the wicket can also be on the drier side. But it is certainly more noticeable. We will advance there [Sunday] and take a look. The gardeners are already there and are working on a suitable test pitch. “We will try to set up a perfect Test wicket where each team can pick up 20 wickets.”