MULTAN: Pakistan red-ball captain Shan Masood has opened up on the team’s strategy that steered them to a dominant victory over England in the recently concluded second Test here on Friday.
The Shan Masood-led team defeated England by 152 runs to level the three-match series and claim their first Test victory at home since February 2021.
Pakistan made four changes in their Playing XI for the second Test after the crushing loss in the first match.
Kamran Ghulam made his long-awaited debut, replacing out-of-form Babar Azam. Meanwhile, spin bowlers Sajid Khan, Noman Ali and Zahid Mahmood replaced Shaheen Shah Afridi, Naseem Shah and Abrar Ahmed.
Shan Masood, during the post-match press conference, shared the reason behind going with three spin bowlers.
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“When the new selection committee came, we all sat together and our only concern was about taking 20 wickets,” Shan stated.
“Looking at the conditions, we felt that if we played on a used pitch and gave the spinners the advantage, we had a chance.”
The Pakistan captain appreciated spinners Noman Ali and Sajid Khan for taking the advantage of conditions and steering the team to victory.
“Credit goes to Noman and Sajid for their comeback – it looked like two seasoned campaigners bowling for Pakistan,” he added.
It’s worth noting that Noman and Sajid took eleven and nine wickets respectively, becoming only the second Pakistani pair to share 20 wickets in a Test match.
READ: Pakistan captain lauds Kamran Ghulam for handling pressure of replacing Babar Azam