Right-arm pacer Hasan Ali shared his views on the debate surrounding the decline of pace by his team’s fast bowlers during the second Test against Australia in Melbourne.

A decline in the bowling speed of the Pakistan pacers has been the centre of attention since the commencement of their three-match away series against Australia.

Notably, the Pakistan cricket team struggled during the first Test as their pace bowlers hardly managed to hit speeds around 140 kph, whereas the Australian pace trio of Josh Hazlewood, Pat Cummins and Mitchell Starc repeatedly clocked above the 140 barrier.

Hasan Ali talked about his and his fellow pacers’ performances on the tour in a press conference in Melbourne.

“I don’t know whose pace has dropped – my focus has never been on pace, and I’ve never bowled at 150 kph,” he said.

“I think it’s better to stick to the area around the top of off stump. I haven’t heard these rumours, and we don’t care about them. Our focus is on the game, and that’s where it should be.”

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Hasan Ali then asserted that Pakistan have an “upper hand” on Australia in the ongoing Test as the touring side did not leak many runs.

“Look, we have an upper hand because we did not leak many runs while playing against a [strong] team like Australia in their conditions,” said Hasan.

“We are not complacent that our job is done. There’s still a long way and our aim is to get them out under 250 and I think that will be a great chance for us to win this game,” he concluded.

It is pertinent to mention that the second Test between Australia and Pakistan at the Melbourne Cricket Ground had a captivating start with the visitors restricting the hosts to 187-3 on the rain-affected first day with their spirited performance.

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