Birmingham, Sep 12 (SocialNews.XYZ) Pakistan captain Babar Azam said the team needs to sit down, assess their mistakes and decide on their best playing XI after England completed a 3-0 Test series sweep with an eight-wicket victory at Edgbaston on Saturday.
Babar admitted Pakistan need to make key decisions about their personnel and approach if they are to make their Test cricket competitive again after a difficult series in England.
“I think we need to sit down and reflect on our mistakes, decide what type of playing eleven, and decide our players. I think they are sitting, and the manager is coming, the selector is coming, and I sit back and then decide our best eleven,” Babar said after the defeat.
Pakistan’s batting showed greater resistance in the final Test, posting 449 in their second innings after being bowled out for under 200 in both innings of the opening two Tests.
Debutant Razaullah provided the biggest spark, smashing 81 off 63 balls with nine sixes after claiming four wickets in England’s first innings. Shan Masood made 95, Babar scored 76 and opener Azam Awais contributed 59 as Pakistan gave England a target of 130.
Mohammad Abbas then gave the visitors hope by removing two England batters in the opening over of the chase.
Babar said Pakistan briefly believed they could pull off an unlikely victory after the fast start with the ball but praised Joe Root and Jordan Cox for their composed response. “Yes. We took two wickets in the first over. So we believe high, always high. But I think Root and both batsmen playing are very good,” he said.
Root remained unbeaten on 62 while Cox scored 59 as the pair put together an unbeaten 128-run partnership to guide England to victory and complete the series sweep.
Babar also backed Razaullah, who made an immediate impact on his Test debut despite having limited first-class experience. “We enjoyed it. I think everyone is enjoying his innings and bowling, and he is a very good talent and raw. I think he’s good for us. The way he played this match and he’s giving confidence,” Babar said.
The Pakistan captain admitted the team had made several changes during the series after the first two defeats, as the visitors struggled with the conditions in England.
“Before we come here, we think about different things, and then we decide our team. And then unfortunately, we have a couple of changes after losing two matches because when we are coming to England, it is very difficult for the batsmen, and the first two pitches are very difficult,” he said.
Pakistan will now look to assess their selections and strategy, with Babar stressing the need to adapt to different conditions and make better use of their young players.
“When you’re coming to different series, you try to do your best, and you decide what type of cricket to play in different conditions. I think these conditions are difficult, but I think we try to get all the new boys to utilise their talent in here,” he said.
With this series loss, Pakistan have lost further ground in the WTC standings. They were already at the dead bottom ahead of the Birmingham loss, and their PCT has now gone further down from 16.67 per cent to 14.81 per cent, as they have just two wins and were also docked eight points for slow over-rate.
Source: IANS
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