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Pakistan pulled off a record-breaking run chase at Galle International Stadium on July 20. While Pakistan chased it down comfortably in the end and won the match by four wickets, former Pakistan skipper Shahid Afridi was not happy with one decision of Babar Azam and team management on Day 5.
In the second session, left-arm spinner Prabath Jayasuriya helped hosts make a comeback with the wickets of Mohammad Rizwan and Agha Salman. After Salman's wicket, Pakistan still needed 44 runs to win. On a Day 5 pitch, batting collapses are very common. Hasan Ali walked out to bat at no.7, a decision which baffled Afridi. Instead, he the left-handed batter wanted Mohammad Nawaz to come out to bat.
'I felt they shouldn't have promoted Hasan Ali at that time. Because it was a left-arm spinner who was taking most of the wickets. I felt Nawaz should have come to the crease after Salman's wicket. I know it was the the captain's decision, though, it isn't necessary that I am right and he is wrong," Afridi said on Samaa TV.
“I only felt that a left-hander would have played (Nawaz) and a left-armer was bowling. So, for that, Nawaz would've been a better option,” the former Pakistan skipper further added.
Ali could not do much and got out off the fourth ball he faced after scoring five runs. However, it was not left-arm spinner Jayasuriya who took his wicket but Dhananjaya de Silva.
Eventually, Nawaz remained not out for 19 off 34 deliveries and shared an unbeaten 39-run partnership for the seventh wicket.
While Afridi questioned Azam’s call to promote Hasan up the order, the skipper delivered with the bat in both innings. He played a lone hand and scored a century in the first innings followed by a half-century in the crucial partnership with Abdullah Shafique in the run chase.
The win helped Pakistan climb up to the third spot on the World Test Championship (WTC) 2021-23 points table. A win in the next Test at the same venue will help them close the gap with the top two ranked teams on the table.
