A 120-run defeat at the hands of West Indies confirmed Pakistan’s last-place finish in the World Test Championship (WTC) table. But this did not make skipper Shan Masood abandon the side’s spin-inclined strategy. In fact, Masood advocates for such raging pitches to be replicated at all levels in Pakistan to prepare batters for the trouble they cause.
“Domestic cricket will be played like this. We’ve already talked about this. The more we’ll play the better we’ll get at it. We’ve shown encouraging signs. After the four matches, we’ve won three in these conditions. We dominated the first hour of the first day which could have swung the match in our favour. It’s just about winning those key moments and ensuring we’re consistent with these conditions domestically and internationally.”
Before Pakistan turned all their focus towards curating rank turners and unleashing their spinners on them to run through the opposition, their record in home Tests was woeful, to say the least. The win against England in the second Test match in November last year was Pakistan’s first in home conditions since February 2021. Since then Pakistan stuck to producing tracks that turned from day one. While this PDA with rank turners helped Pakistan bowlers get wickets, it was always deemed an unsustainable way of doing the job, especially since it ruled the fast bowlers out of the equation. It was also not easy on batters to bat on a surface which was turning the ball miles. But to Masood that is all the more reason for the players to have similar conditions in domestic cricket.
“It’s a game of all stakeholders.” Shan Masood said. “We should appreciate the players for throwing themselves in the den without being exposed to these conditions. We know we haven’t played domestic cricket in these conditions. In some ways, it’s a kind of bravery to expose ourselves to these conditions. We practiced, but this is new for us. But we need to replicate this in domestic cricket, give our batters exposure so we play in these conditions and get runs in them. In the fourth innings, anything over 150 is a competitive score, where spinners will always have the edge.”
Pakistan missed the opportunity of nipping the visitors in the bud when they were very much in control of the situation. During the first inning of the second Test match, the hosts managed to dismiss eight of the Windies batters for a mere total of 54 runs. However, the recovery which followed it was remarkably frustrating for Pakistan. The Windies tailenders managed to add 116 runs to the tally, making Pakistan rue all the lost chances.
“We didn’t get the result we wanted. The positive thing was when you field first and you know the fourth innings will be difficult. So you try to restrict the opposition in the first innings. We bowled brilliantly for the first eight wickets. But we’ve talked about the first innings batting and bowling combining to do well, so you have the advantage in the third and fourth innings. If you look at our batting and bowling, and the mistakes we made collectively, that was a crucial time because their last two wickets cost us dear.”
This late-order partnership was followed by a batting collapse that further dented Pakistan’s chances of making a comeback in the game.
“Then, with the bat, we went from 119 for 4 to 154 all out. When these collapses happen and the other side puts on partnerships, they can set you back. If we’d got them out early and got a 100-run lead, the Test match would be completely different. With Test matches on these pitches, you can’t wait to make a move, because things are decided on day one, and that is where you can win or lose matches.”
Rarely does it happen when Test cricket gives chances to make amends and Pakistan was certainly not an exception in Multan. Following the lost chances in the first innings, things kept going downhill for Pakistan, ending the game with West Indies winning their first-ever Test in Pakistan since 1990. Shan Masood was accepting of the fact that Pakistan were too slow to make their moves and the visitors made sure to grab this chance with both hands.
“It’s not about holding someone responsible. This isn’t an accountability bureau. This is a team effort. Our mistake as a team was the first two innings. That was what set us back, and gave the opposition a degree of freedom. If we had a 100-run lead, I do not think they’d have been able to play in the way they did. We need to understand the direction of matches will be decided very quickly, as early as day one.”
