PAK vs ENG: You have to find ways to take 20 wickets and we aren’t doing that of late, says Shan Masood

Pakistan captain Shan Masood admitted he was gutted after an innings defeat in the first Test against England despite the host putting up 556 in the first innings.

Pakistan became the first team in Test history to lose a game after scoring 500 plus runs in the first innings.

“It is disappointing to lose again. England found a way to win the match; they created their window of opportunity. Harsh reality is that in test cricket quality sides find a way to win matches,” he told the media after the match on Friday.

Shan scored 151 in the first innings to lead his team to a big total which was surpassed by England who declared at 823 for 7 after a brilliant 317 from Harry Brook and 262 from Joe Root.

“I wouldn’t say my team is mentally weak but we expected this pitch to break by the third day onwards that is why we prolonged our innings. But at the end of the day you have to find ways to take 20 wickets and we are not doing that in recent times,” he said.

Shan said the pitch was the same for both sides but a good formula to win Test matches is to put up a good first innings score so that you are in the driving seat in the third and fourth innings and then find windows to take 20 wickets.

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He pointed out that Pakistan had played a Test in Multan for the first time since 2022 and didn’t get a chance to interact with the curator or groundsmen.

“Both squads were different this time in Multan. But we need to improve on ways to adapt to conditions and situations every day of a test and find ways to win as the pitch changes everyday,” he said.

The Pakistan skipper admitted that the team was not learning from its mistakes and repeating them again and again.

“We can’t blame anyone but ourselves. Where we made lapses they didn’t and capitalised on their opportunities. The pitch character did change on the fourth day when we came to bat as some cracks had opened up and there was a little something for the bowlers with the new ball.”

Asked about the continuing poor form of Babar Azam and whether it was time to give him a break, Shan said that in Test cricket you hoped that the next innings from a player like Babar would be big. “But we will sit down and reflect on this test and then make decisions on the squad for the next test,” he added.