“I felt very disappointed that Pakistan lost to this West Indies side” – Inzamam Ul Haq slams Pakistan defeat against "ordinary" West Indies
Former Pakistan captain Inzamam Ul Haq slammed the Pakistan side for their performance in the first Test against the West Indies. He said that Pakistan ought to have defeated this West Indies side comprehensively.
Pakistan went down against the hosts in a closely fought contest at Sabina Park in Jamaica. Chasing a target of 168 runs, West Indies scraped through with a solitary wicket in hand.
Speaking on his YouTube channel The Match Winner, Inzamam Ul Haq said that he was left distraught with Pakistan’s defeat to this “ordinary” West Indies side.
“Winning and losing is a part of sports. But I felt very disappointed that Pakistan lost to this West Indies side. Pakistan should have defeated this team with ease. Pakistan players were far better than them. This West Indies team is a very ordinary team. Pakistan should have won this Test match by a huge margin,” Inzamam Ul Haq said.
The former batter went on to ridicule the West Indies pace bowlers, comparing them to the seamers of the era he played in.
“When I used to play in the West Indies, in the 1990s or early 2000s, the batsmen used to be deprived of sleep thinking about the fast bowlers. Big tall fast bowlers, every bowler used to bowl at 150 (kmph). When I am seeing the West Indies bowlers now, someone is bowling at 121 (kmph), someone bowls at 126 (kmph) and someone at 133 (kmph).”
The three West Indian pacers, along with medium-pacer Kyle Mayers, shared all 20 Pakistan wickets to fall in the match.
“Pakistan lost because they played very defensively” – Inzamam Ul Haq
Inzamam Ul Haq pointed out that Pakistan played a defensive brand of cricket which eventually led to their defeat in the first Test.
He admitted that the pitch was tough to bat on with the greenish tinge, but expected the batters to show more intent.
“Pakistan lost because they played very defensively. The wicket was tough. It is the first time I have seen a green pitch in the West Indies. But with this kind of bowling attack, if we had attacked a bit, it would not have been this effective on even that pitch,” Inzamam Ul Haq added.
The batters certainly did not impress the Pakistani legend with their defensive approach. He wants them to try and attack the bowlers to take them off their line and length.
“If you don’t improve the strike rate, you won’t improve your game. When you start trying to score and improve the strike rate, when you attack the bowlers, they will be forced to change their line and length. But if you face 70-80 balls and score 10-20 runs, there won’t be any sort of pressure on the opposition bowlers.”
Pakistan will be once again out on the field on Friday to face West Indies in the second Test of the series. West Indies leads the two-Test series 1-0.