Upbeat Shan says win brought great relief for squad

ISLAMABAD: Winning a Test at home following a long agonizing wait has come as a big relief for Pakistan cricket’s fans and those eager to see the team get back on the victorious path.

Team captain Shan Masood, who talked to the media after squaring the series against England Friday, was excited to achieve his first win as a captain after losing six Tests in a row. “It is a big relief for us. It is a relief for those eager to see Pakistan cricket competitive one. Relief not only for the team but for the fans also. Since I’ve come in, we’ve had no issue taking risks. We’ve tried to play cricket that brings results and we’ve lost a lot of matches doing that, too. But we want to become a team that can produce results anywhere.”

The test captain reiterated that it was all about taking 20 wickets.

“Without that, you cannot win matches unless other declares the innings. So we have to look into options as to what should be a combination on every surface where we can take 20 wickets. I am really happy that the selected combination on this wicket in Multan has helped us get back in the series. We need big first innings with the bat and then the bowlers to back us up to give us a lead. The lead took the third innings pressure off us, and the 75-run lead helped us because where we scored the same 220-odd resulted in a nearly 300-run target.”

Shan added that victory came following some close misses.

“That really hurt us when we look back at the series played in Australia and later against Bangladesh. We could have achieved wins but here it finally clicked.” The target for Friday, Shan said, was how to take the last eight wickets.

“We succeeded in that with our spinners making us proud. We have restricted England to a sizeable total in the first innings and took the lead which ultimately allowed us to close the game.”

The captain said that achieving consistent wins had never been easier. “It is all about assessing the conditions well. Here we changed our strategy at the last minute and team members responded to that changed strategy. We will take this newly found strategy forward to win the series.”

On the pitch condition for the next Test at the Pindi Stadium, starting from October 24, Shan said it was not about the spin or pace-friendly track. “It is all about taking 20 wickets. We would like to play on the surface where we can take 20 wickets to win a Test.”

Shan wanted to repeat the performance his charges have shown in the second Test. “We would want to select a playing XI at Rawalpindi which could help us take 20 wickets and win the Test for us. We want a repeat performance from the winning combination.”

On the strategy planned for the second Test, he said it was the result of collective wisdom.

“We sat together with the new selection committee and we all decided to go with the team combination that could help us take 20 wickets. That was the reason we preferred the spin option. Sajid and Nauman made us proud by helping us win the match. I don’t think we’ll go to a strategy where we go for a spin wicket everywhere. You need to know the characteristics of your ground and soil to be a good Test team. For me, the message to our group would be how to take 20 wickets and how to back them up with the required runs.”

“Very heartening to see Pakistan making a strong comeback. We knew what we were doing wrong. We were not scoring where we should have. A risk factor is always there and here we took a risk in an effort to take 20 wickets.” Shan hoped to get another drier pitch at Pindi Stadium