Following the 330-run loss in the second Test at Old Trafford, Pakistan captain Misbah-ul-Haq admitted that the visitors were thoroughly outplayed in all departments of the game by England.
In the post-match presentation, Misbah rued, “It happens, it can turn around like that. Full credit to England – they won a good toss, then Cook and Root took the game away. We were nowhere near, below average and we need to improve in every department.”
Disappointed with his team’s abject performance in the first innings in both batting and bowling, he felt, “You need to keep the opposition to 350. Near 600, it's really difficult to come back. The way we batted in the first innings, we could have scored more than 350-400. We were thrown out of the game.”
Coming into the match on the back of a wonderful display at Lord’s, Pakistan were unable to cope with the extra bounce in Manchester. In particular, Yasir Shah turned from threatening to innocuous and was carted around without any mercy.
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However, Misbah believed that the swing-friendly conditions did not suit Yasir’s mode of operation and instead credited the England batsmen for dealing with the leg-spinner in a forceful manner.
The veteran reasoned, “Yasir is used to bowling on second and third day when there is some rough for him. So this is different and he didn't have anything. Credit too for Root and Cook who played him really well.”
Hoping to channel Pakistan’s unpredictable nature, he insisted, “It's the good and bad thing about our team. We can have a result like this after a good game but we can also bounce back from it. Mentally they are capable of coming back.“
With the 4-match series tantalizingly poised at 1-1, the action will shift to Birmingham as the third Test begins on August 3.
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