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‘You Look For Progress…’ Shan Masood Not Completely Disheartened By The Loss Vs Australia

image-lq9fmafsShan Masood failed to make any impact with the bat in the Perth Test. (AP)

Pakistan's Test captain Shan Masood shared his thoughts following his team's humiliating 360-run defeat on the fourth day of the opening Test against Australia in Perth on Sunday, December 17.

The quest for a Test match victory in Australia eluded Shan Masood's side as they faced a comprehensive defeat by 360 runs on Day 4 of the first Test in their three-match series against Pat Cummins's Australian team in Perth on Sunday, December 17. 

The formidable Australian bowling attack shattered Pakistan's improbable quest for their first Test win in Australia since 1995, bringing the game to a swift conclusion within four days. Pakistan's final innings crumbled to their third-lowest total on Australian soil (89) with Saud Shakeel emerging as the top scorer with 24 runs. For Australia, Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazlewood bagged three wickets each, while Nathan Lyon bagged two wickets to dismantle Pakistan's attempts.

 Masood speaks after the loss

Expected to display resilience with the bat in the closing innings of the series opener at the Optus Stadium, Pakistan found themselves overwhelmed by the high-quality Australian bowling attack. Despite the defeat, Masood focused on the positives to uplift his team's morale before the second Test.

"Look when you come to these shores, you look for progress. If you had told us that Australia will play 110 overs and we'll play 100, I'd have taken that. We could have scored quicker and 60-70 runs would have proved the difference in maybe keeping that lead to a sizeable level. Discipline is something we would take from the Australian attack. We took 15 wickets and need to aim for 20,"  said Shan Masood in the post-match presentation.

Expressing the need for progress on foreign shores, Masood recognized the importance of discipline, citing Australia's attack as an example.

“It's never easy when you have two debutants in a four-seam attack. They have the first-class record, and they had a lot of overs under their belt. Aamer’s pace was decent and Khurram’s accuracy was good. We'll take the positives and they did decently well,"  added Masood.

Masood's initiation into Test captaincy was predicted to be challenging, and the perceived lack of fight from the Asian giants, especially in the second innings, has raised concerns for the upcoming matches.