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RAWALPINDI: Pakistan opener Abdullah Shafique admitted that luck played a part in his hard-fought fifty against South Africa on the opening day of second Test played here at the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium.
Abdullah made 57 from 146 balls — the second most balls faced by Pakistan batter on the opening day, with the help of four boundaries.
The right-hander, who was in search of runs, rode his luck and scored his fifth Test half-century. He was dropped three times on 0, 15, and 41.
Speaking at the end of the day’s play, Abdullah reflected on his knock and talked about the dropped chances.
“This is cricket — these things happen to us as well, and it happened to them today. In the end, it worked in our favor. I believe in international cricket, you need a bit of luck too,” he told reporters in a press conference.
Regarding his run drought in the past couple of years, the 25-year-old emphasized hard work and training to overcome recurring mistakes.
“Every professional goes through a lean patch — I think I’m going through that phase. But good players are those who overcome these challenges. I’ve been working hard in the nets and in the camps before this. I’ve been working on correcting my mistakes.”
We have many senior players in the team, and everyone goes through this phase. I try to talk as much as I can — the more you talk, the more you learn and reflect,” he continued.
He also mentioned the surface, explaining why Pakista’s scoring rate was on the slower side and revealed what he believed would be an ideal first innings total.
“Compared to Lahore, there isn’t a major change in this wicket, but the outfield here is a bit slower, which is why the scoring rate was slightly lower. Otherwise, it’s quite similar — no big difference,” he explained.
“We’ll try to bat as long as we can so that we can score enough runs to help our bowlers later. The pitch will get drier and we’ll get more turn. Ideally, we’d like to get to around 320–350,” Abdullah concluded.
READ: Saud holds firm as South Africa’s late strike leave opening day evenly poised
