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Pakistan on January 27 lost to Pakistan at home after a long gap of over 34 years. In the Multan Test, Pakistan had reduced West Indies to 37 for 7 in the first innings, thanks to Noman Ali's historic hat-trick. However, West Indies' tail wagged and Pakistan threw away the advantage they had on a spin-friendly track where they had to bat last. After the 120-run defeat, Shan Masood said that Pakistan's inability to wrap up West Indies' innings was the reason behind the loss.
"I think the only option left was to bring the fast bowler on and have a crack (on losing advantage on Day 1). They batted well, but that's something that we have to learn. We have struggled to get the tail out here, something that we did well in Australia, but we also struggled in South Africa. Even in the game we lost right now, the first day, we were in a position where we wanted to be, just one bad performance, it led to a domino effect, but you can't forget the way we have played right through," Masood in the post-match presentation.
Masood points at few 'encouraging signs'
Masood chose to look at the positives from the series and how a few fifties and useful conditions from senior batters helped them win first Test. He also wants his players to learn from West Indies captain Kraigg Brathwaite who scored a fifty under-pressure in the second innings.
"We have realised that one extra partnership can have a big effect on games, that's what we want to learn quickly. It's a game of all stakeholders, appreciate the players to be willing to throw themselves into the den without being used to it (on their batting struggles). We did win 3 of the 4 Tests on such pitches, we did well on the first session here as well. It's important to see some encouraging signs - when Saud and Rizzy got their fifties, I got a 60-ball fifty in the first Test, Babar contributed as well.
"We might not get those big hundreds, but you need to be proactive, Brathwaite took the game on with his 50 and that's what we need to be aware of and probably be better going further," he added.
Pakistan's worst WTC finish
Under Masood's captaincy, Pakistan finished at the bottom of the World Test Championship (WTC) 2023-25 points table. They had nine losses from 14 Tests and a win percentage of 27.98.
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