Pakistan won the Multan Test within three days
Pakistan Test captain Shan Masood came in staunch defence of the pitch used at Multan for the first Test against West Indies after the hosts wrapped up a 127-run win early on the third day.
The methods used to dry out the pitch have been under scrutiny since the England series in October, 2024 as the ground staff have used big fans to dry out the soil.
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It was once the case at Multan as the pitch was enclosed in a green house to warm it up. In the match, Pakistan called on pacer Khurram Shahzad only in the first innings who went wicketless while the spin trio of Sajid Khan, Noman Ali and Abrar Ahmed claimed all the wickets.
It was a statement from Pakistan to keep spin at the forefront to get Test results. In the last three Test at home, all 60 wickets have fallen to spin with Sajid and Noman Ali claiming 54 of those.
The spin effect was much more pronounced on the second and third days of the match as Windies’ left-arm spinner Jomel Warrican claimed 7-32 in the second innings. Even though Pakistan were all out for 157, a target of 251 was enough for their spin triumvirate to skittle out the visitors for 123 within 36.3 overs.
When asked about the pitch conditions, Masood said it was necessary to win matches.
“We will do what we need to take 20 wickets and win the match. We changed it during the England series because we wanted our team to win. We should appreciate the hard work of our bowlers, who got us 20 wickets consistently,” he said in the post-match press conference.
In the second innings there was no sign of pacers taking guard for Pakistan which is a strange sight considering their long tradition to go with pace-heavy attacks irrespective of conditions.
Masood felt that it was not just the pitch but Pakistan doing well across departments that got them a win.
Saud Shakeel and keeper Mohammad Rizwan scored fifties in the first innings which was the biggest contribution to their total of 230 while Masood scored 52 in the second innings.
“If you’re looking individually at the batters, it doesn’t make for good reading. But our batters batted better than West Indies, and better than England’s batters in October. If you just look at hundreds and fifties and judge them by raw numbers, then it’ll be misleading,” Masood said.
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The Pakistan skipper also took India’s example in producing more results at home and felt that the people watching should also adjust to the team’s strategy.
“Just like we’ll have to be flexible with our playing style, viewers will also need to be flexible in their thinking. Look at India’s blueprint and their averages at home and you’ll get the point. If conditions are flat, getting 20 wickets is hard. We’ve sacrificed individual milestones for team results,” Masood added.
Pakistan have long fallen away from the race for World Test Championship 2023-25 final as they lost eight Tests. Their three wins in the last five Tests was too late as they are likely to finish second from the bottom above their opponents West Indies.
Paksitan are set to face England, West Indies and Bangladesh at home in the upcoming cycle of WTC.
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