Pakistan captain Sarfraz Ahmed says the record 373-run victory in the second Test against Australia has taught his team valuable lessons.
Things had looked bleak for Pakistan after they had been reduced to 57/5 on the first day of the Test in Abu Dhabi, but the fight back began with a fantastic 147-run stand between the captain and Fakhar Zaman, the debutant opener.
Both Sarfraz and Zaman went on to score 94, falling agonisingly short of a century, but shored Pakistan up to a respectable 282 after a very ordinary start to the innings, thanks also to useful contributions from the lower order. From there on, Pakistan went on to dominate the Test so emphatically that Australia never once looked competitive.
“There are a lot of lessons [from this win],” said Sarfraz. “First of all never give up, there are few teams that can stage such a massive win in four days after losing five wickets in the first session. As a captain, I have learnt that I have to keep fighting and keep telling the remaining players not to throw their wickets away.”
“The contribution by tail becomes very important in such a scenario. Bilal Asif, Yasir Shah, and Mohammad Abbas’s contributions with the bat helped. This is what we have learned.”
“The way we staged the comeback, it makes us look more mentally strong than Australia. Credit goes to Fakhar Zaman on how he played with me. And, then in the second innings again. Azhar Ali, Fakhar Zaman, Asad Shafiq, Babar Azam all of the batters. Pakistan have been a better team in the series,” gushed Ahmed.
“We need to improve our spin department despite it being our strong. We need another bowler with Abbas who can bowl not only on these wickets but in foreign conditions as well,” said Ahmed.
