Former fast bowler, Shoaib Akhtar, has expressed his displeasure with Pakistan’s performance in the first of the three Test matches against England at the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium.
After the home side suffered a 74 runs defeat, Akhtar stated that they were given the chance when England declared innings on the fourth day to take a lead in the series but they did not take advantage of it.
“The situation where England declared yesterday, would Pakistan have done the same? They wouldn’t have. Their coach McCullam said that they will play a run a ball in Test cricket,” Akhtar added.
While criticizing Pakistan’s mindset of playing slow cricket on a flat surface, the Rawalpindi Express stated that they should have played aggressively on the last day of the match.
The world’s fastest bowler went on to say that it was very disappointing to see Pakistan fail to chase 343 runs on such a dead pitch. “I did not see any intent or capability,” Akhtar added.
It is worth noting that the Babar Azam-led side appeared to be in command when Rizwan and Salman were playing but then lost five wickets in 11 runs to allow the visitors to take the series lead.
The second match of the series will kick off on December 9 at Multan Cricket Stadium while the last match will be played at National Stadium Karachi from December 17 to 21.
