CARDIFF: Looking at the bigger picture, Pakistan’s impressive four-wicket triumph against England here at Sophia Gardens on Sunday was merely a face-saving win.
Having conceded a 0-4 lead to England, Pakistan had nothing left but pride to play for when they took the field against the hosts as the series was already lost without much of a fight.
But Azhar Ali, the Pakistan captain, took a lot of positives out of Sunday’s match in which the visitors finally turned the tide by successfully chasing 303 — their highest-ever successful run-chase outside of Asia. The main architects of the victory were Sarfraz Ahmed and Shoaib Malik with a fourth-wicket stand of 163.
It was too little too late for Pakistan but Azhar said that his team was pleased to have ended an otherwise miserable series on a winning note.
“It’s a very happy camp right now because it has been a very tough tour for us in ODIs, getting a victory at the end and finishing on a high is really good, especially chasing 300 is really satisfying,” Azhar told reporters after the match.
“The series was gone but credit should be given to the boys for the way they played today’s game.
“It’s a very good feeling right now. The way Sarfraz and Shoaib batted, we lost two wickets in one over and that could have been a turning point of the game but the way they built up the partnership was brilliant.
“Series was gone, losing 4-1 is not a result you want, but the way things were as a team we wanted to finish on a good note and that’s what we achieved. There are a lot of things need to be improved, as a team we have to gel together and keep working on it.”
Sunday’s victory — only Pakistan’s second ODI win this year — helped them end a run of seven straight losses to England in the 50-over format.
Pakistan are trailing at number nine in the ODI rankings and have to really raise their game to avoid the ignominy of featuring in the qualifying rounds of World Cup 2019.
But instead of delving in those details, Azhar chose to heap praise on the young trio of Hasan Ali, Imad Wasim and Mohammad Nawaz.
“A few guys we have seen on this tour have really stepped up, they are young guys and if they can play good consistent cricket we are looking at a bright future,” he said. “These are very good signs and especially the way Sarfraz batted, this whole tour he’s been exceptional. He’s been positive and scoring good runs at No. 5, so we’ve got some good performances but we just need to bind it together and start playing consistent cricket.”
Azhar, who had been struggling in the ODI format, was pleased to have finished with 208 in the series with scores of 82 at the Ageas Bowl and 80 at Headingley. “It’s important to score runs, I’m in the team as a batsman. I was missing runs, I got a few 80s so that will really help my confidence,” he said.
“Leading by example is very important I will try and keep that form in coming series so that will help the team,” he added.
England captain Eoin Morgan was a happy man despite failing to complete a 5-0 whitewash against Pakistan.
“We’ve been outstanding,” he said. One of the things we identified before the Pakistan tour was we want to strive to be as consistent as we can. We don’t want to be the best one day and the worst another. Every game throughout the series, we’ve come out with a hunger and determination to perform at our best.
“Even after winning the series 3-0 and being pushed back chasing 250, I thought we showed a huge amount of character at Leeds. We have shown a lot of strength throughout this series, and more to build on.”
Morgan said that England could have scored 350 after being asked to bat first in the last ODI.
“We lost a lot of momentum by losing wickets in the fashion we did,” he said. “We don’t really worry about the consequences. We just want to be better at executing the shots we want to play so we can post 350. The fact we fell short and only got 300 isn’t a bad thing.
“I thought Jason Roy played well, and Ben Stokes backed up his innings from Leeds again. We’re disappointed to lose, but I don’t think it was that bad a performance,” Morgan said.