After the difficult defeat by 79 runs in opposition to Australia within the second Test, Pakistan’s captain, Shan Masood, is emphasizing the silver linings from the MCG match and inspiring everybody to concentrate on the broader perspective. Despite the setback, Pakistan’s top-order batsmen, Masood, Babar Azam, and Agha Salman, exhibited resilience and dedication on Day 4 in Melbourne. However, the relentless efforts of Australia’s tempo duo, Pat Cummins and Mitchell Starc, finally secured the Test sequence win for the hosts with one match remaining on the Melbourne Cricket Ground on Friday.
Even within the face of defeat, Masood stays optimistic, highlighting the positives that emerged in the course of the sport. He urges observers to think about the bigger context and acknowledges that there are quite a few takeaways from the match. Despite falling quick, Pakistan fought gallantly till the tip, however Australia’s stable efficiency sealed their victory within the second Test and the general sequence.
The second 10-wicket haul for Pat Cummins in Tests _
What a efficiency _#WTC25 | #AUSvPAK pic.twitter.com/JyPmeFU9k4
— ICC (@ICC) December 29, 2023
“We have to look at the bigger picture. There were a lot of positives. We can easily be like, ‘what if we did this, what if we did that?’ That’s all and part and process of the game. There were a lot of positives but if you give a quality side like Australia a sniff, which we did, maybe sometimes with the bowl, maybe sometimes with the bat, yesterday maybe in the field we dropped someone in form like Marsh, we might not have been chasing so many today. Mistakes happen. In terms of the bigger picture, this is the way we want to play Test cricket. Playing Test cricket in these conditions, fighting till the end, where a result was possible for us, that’s something we have to take forward as a team,” Masood mentioned in a post-match presentation.
Masood complimented his workforce for battling until the end after reflecting on how the sport unfolded over the course of 4 days. Cummins completes a 10-wicket match haul in Australia’s 79-run win to take an unassailable 2-0 sequence lead.
“It’s a reflection of four days, the game kept turning. Sometimes it’d go Australia’s way, sometimes ours. We were fortunate to win the toss and have the best of the bowling conditions. We were leading with the bat when me and Abdullah had a good partnership, Pat Cummins came in with that spell and that’s why he’s one of the best bowlers in the world. In the second innings, Steve Smith and Mitchell Marsh’s partnership, that put us back again. We have taken 20 wickets which we haven’t done in Australia for a while, that’s a box ticked,” he added.
“A lot to work on, but this is the blueprint with which we want to play Test cricket. Hopefully we keep doing that. They are ruthless, you want to convert the fifties into hundreds. That’s what we have to do as a batting unit. They have some world-class bowlers in their ranks, if you give them a sniff you might not have enough runs on the board,” he added.
He criticised the batters’ failure to show wonderful begins and fifties into a whole lot, saying that it was the mannequin he needed the squad to observe.
“It’s WTC, every Test match counts. Very happy with how we played the game, it’s just about the finishing touches and winning the crucial moments like the Australians did in this game. The groundsmen did a wonderful job, one of the better Test pitches that we have played on, something for everyone. Very glad that we got to play such an exciting Test match,” the Pakistan captains mentioned.
At the MCG as Pat Cummins lead Australia to victory by 79 runs within the Boxing Day Test. The hosts took an unassailable 2-0 lead within the sequence in opposition to Pakistan. Cummins completed with a 10-wicket match haul in Australia’s 79-run win whereas Starc returned with 4/55 and each pacers bowled a hostile spell of quick bowling to take the host to a second consecutive triumph.
The third and final match of the sequence will likely be performed from January 3 on the Sydney Cricket Ground.
