"The point of playing in home conditions is to play to your strengths" - Inzamam-ul-Haq unhappy with Test pitches in Pakistan
Former Pakistan captain Inzamam-ul-Haq slammed the pitches produced in the ongoing Test series against Australia. The former chief selector also felt Pakistan were capable of taking a healthy lead in the second Test instead of their batters crumbling meekly.
Day Three of the second Test in Karachi saw Australia finally declare their innings after batting on the first two days. The visitors declared at 556-9 and by the end of the day, Australia were batting again after bowling Pakistan out for 148. They now hold a lead of 489 runs with two days to go.
Australia had their best day of the series with the ball as they rolled Pakistan for 148 runs #PAKvAUS
In a YouTube video, Inzamam-ul-Haq questioned the nature of the pitches, which neither supported Pakistan's spinners nor the pacers. The veteran of 120 Tests recalled that the tracks produced in his playing days had plenty of life in them. He said:
"The point of playing in home conditions is to play to your strengths - prepare a rank turner to assist the spinners or favor the fast bowlers. Lifeless or slow decks have never been Pakistan's strength. Pakistan has previously produced flat tracks when Wasim Akram, Waqar Younis, and Shoaib Akhtar used to play. However, it used to have life on those and produced reverse swing."
The 52-year-old opined that despite being in good form, Pakistan's top order failed to stand up to Australia's relentless bowling. He added:
"I think Pakistan have not played to the best of their ability. Imam-ul-Haq had made two centuries, Abdullah Shafique had played well and Azhar Ali was also in good form. However, no one could score. I want to know whether the captain or the head coach has demanded such pitches. Hence, I blame them partly."
The visitors' pace spearhead Mitchell Starc was the chief destroyer as his reverse swing proved too much for Pakistan's batters. The left-arm speedster returned figures of 13-5-29-3, his three victims being Azhar Ali, Fawad Alam, and Sajid Khan.
"I honestly thought Pakistan would be able to take a 250-300 first-innings lead" - Inzamam-Ul-Haq
While Inzamam admitted that teams come under pressure seeing totals over 500, he thought Pakistan could take a significant lead. He said:
"I honestly thought Pakistan would be able to take a 250-300 first-innings lead. When a team puts up around 560-600 runs on the board, 90% of the time, the opposition succumbs to pressure."
Shaheen reviews but it’s wrapped up!
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While the first Test in Rawalpindi ended in a draw, the ongoing match is unlikely to go that way. Australia will be desperate for a rare Test victory in Asia.