Hafeez, Masood question Pakistan’s batting strategy in first inning

• Pakistan loses the Perth Test by 360 runs due to poor batting strategy.
• Masood and Hafeez admit to a cautious approach and a lack of application.
• Pakistan’s 89-run chase falls short against Australia’s 450 target.

Australia won the first Test match in Perth by a commanding 360 runs after Pakistan’s first innings lethargic batting strategy was questioned by team director Mohammad Hafeez and captain Shan Masood.

Chasing a goal of 450, the visitors collapsed for a meager 89 runs, with Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazlewood both taking three wickets and Nathan Lyon taking 2-18.

Shan Masood, who was disappointed with the team’s performance, said that Pakistan might have batted more aggressively even though they were up against one of the best bowling assaults in the world.

“When you come here, you look for progress. If you told us at the start of the Test that Australia would play 110 overs and we would play 100 overs, I’d take that as a batting unit. Even though we were playing one of the best attacks in the world, we could have batted a bit quicker. We probably missed out on 60 or 70 runs, which could have minimized the lead,” Masood said in post-match presentation.

Hafeez further disclosed that some players’ lack of application and several tactical blunders led to the team’s incapacity to control pivotal moments.

“We couldn’t execute our skills. We made the plans for the team, but unfortunately, as a team, we couldn’t execute our plans. Obviously, the guys wanted to, but they never applied themselves, to be honest. As a team, we made a couple of tactical errors. There were certain situations where we could have dominated. We were prepared, but our execution wasn’t great,” Hafeez said in a post-match press conference.

Pakistan’s openers, Abdullah Shafique and Imam-ul-Haq, approached the first inning cautiously, accumulating 74 runs at a rate of two runs per over to negotiate the new ball after eliminating Australia for 487. But because of their poor start, Pakistan only batted for 53 overs on the second day, finishing at stumps with 132 for 2. Shan Masood, on the other hand, stood out for his aggressive purpose in the first inning, scoring 30 runs off of 43 balls.

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