Defeat exposes difference in approach of Pakistan, England teams

ISLAMABAD: It was encouraging to see Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chairman Ramiz Raja trying to pull up national cricketers’ confidence at the PM House following the first Test loss against England. Such confidence-boosting sermons become all the more important when fear of losing grips over a highly rated team even fails to play its normal game.

That was exactly what happened to Pakistan at the Pindi Stadium. An achievable target on a placid pitch turned out to be a far cry for the Pakistan cricketers, who ultimately opted to go for a draw but to no avail.

“You have done your best and tried hard to come to terms. Sometimes you lose sometimes you win. It is all about the efforts you put into that matter. Hopefully, you would make your best efforts to square the series at Multan,” Ramiz said to the players at PM House during a reception hosted in honour of the both teams.

The PCB Chairman stressed upon his cricketers to be more aggressive and play like wounded tigers to square the series. “You can do that.

The team is full of talent. Every player will have to put in his hundred percent to win matches for the country,” he said.

He also called on the fast bowlers to play an aggressive role in the team’s success “Fast bowlers' role during the rest of the series will be important. They must put in all our effort.”

No wonders Pakistan were in a position to win the Test as English captain Ben Stokes mentioned that they wanted to keep hosts in hunt of run-chase.

“Why we have set a reachable target for Pakistan to chase? We wanted them to think during the entire chase that they can achieve the target. This way we would be in a better position to get them out and we succeeded in that.”

There was a clear difference between both sides’ planning, going into the opening Test of the series. England approached the Test with a clear mind and that was to play aggressive cricket and to force the opposition to go on the back foot.

They put their newly adopted aggressive “Bazball” formula into practice by scoring more than run a ball in both innings, declaring the second innings close, at a time no one was expecting them to do that and setting an easy target for Pakistan to chase. On a placid surface where there was no help for the seam or spin attack, scoring at around three runs per over in four available sessions of play was never a big ask.

The way England's captain marshaled his fielders in a virtual attacking posture was something unbelievable. Even when Pakistan was looking dominating in and around the lunch break, England had never gone on the defensive.

There was no set direction for Pakistan. Whether to go for victory or to make effort to earn a draw, possibly no Pakistani batsman was sure of.

The host country did not even know what type of wicket they will be playing at the outset of the Test. When they finally entered the Test, they were just seen taking their chances and were waiting for the occasion to come to think about victory or draw. The hosts lacked a clear direction as to what state of mind the Pindi Test should be pursued. The contrasting difference in strategy and planning turned out to be the key factor in the end.

The team’s ability to take on the opponents has been far off from the modern-day cricket requirements with the result that Pakistan always struggle to achieve a set target.