'The Emphasis Was on Scoring Fast Runs': Shan Masood On Pakistan's New Batting Approach
Shan Masood made 39 off 30 [Twitter]
The ongoing First Test between Sri Lanka and Pakistan in Galle marked the starting of the new World Test Championship cycle for both the teams. Two days of play have been completed and the Test match is very well balanced between the two sides.
Electing to bat first, Sri Lanka posted a formidable 312 with Dhananjaya de Silva topping the scoring chart with his tenth Test century. In reply, Pakistan finished Day 2 at 221 for five with Saud Shakeel and Agha Salman both batting at 69 and 61 respectively.
Noticeably, Pakistan were losing wickets in clusters initially in the innings but their scoring rate was pretty good which never allowed the Sri Lankan bowlers to settle.
Sri Lanka did manage to send half of the Pakistani batters around the first 20 overs, limiting them to 132 for five at tea. But the major takeaway during the break was Pakistan’s scoring rate which was well close to five runs per over.
Shan Masood opened up on Pakistan’s scoring rate
Speaking in the press conference after the end of Day 2, Pakistan’s left-handed batter Shan Masood revealed that the side is actually focusing on scoring at a rapid pace whenever an opportunity arrives.
“The last Test cycle gave us a big reflection and the management was very firm that one of the things the team was lacking in finishing Test matches was that we were not scoring at such a high rate as our opposition,” Masood said.
Pakistan hosted the likes of Australia, England and New Zealand for a total of eight Tests at home in the last cycle. There were few games which Pakistan could have won but ended in a draw due to lack of intent with the bat.
“The emphasis was on scoring [quick] runs, just to sort of put the opposition under pressure. Yes, we lost wickets but that way of playing allowed us to stay in the game,” Masood added.
Masood himself scored 39 off 30 balls and despite being five down, Pakistan did not hold back and added another 89 runs in 17 overs without losing any further wicket in the last session till the rain interrupted the play.
Babar Azam and co seem to have taken a huge example from someone like England to play the way they played on day 2 and kept themselves alive in the game. This new approach can be a double-edged sword but it surely keeps the game alive and more often than not the Test match ends with a result.
It will be interesting to see if Pakistan continues to bat the same way and manage to cross Sri Lanka’s first innings score on Day 3.
 "Kaushik Kashyap")
