The first Test match between Pakistan and Australia, played in Rawalpindi, resulted in a dull draw and since then the Rawalpindi pitch had to face plenty of criticism. But situation seems to be similar as experts and many former cricketers have once again started criticising the Karachi pitch used for the second Test match of the series between Pakistan and Australia.
Players like, Danish Kaneria, Inzamam-ul-Haq and Shahid Afridi had previously slammed the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) for such poor pitch conditions and now former Pakistan cricketer Salman Butt has opened up on the Karachi pitch and called it as “slow and low” and he also urged the pitch to be pace bowling-friendly.
Butt speaks
“If I have Shaheen, Hasan, Naseem Shah, I will provide something in the pitch for them. I don’t have Yasir Shah so I cannot play the leg-spinner and when I say this, I’m also saying that we don’t have spinners on whom we can rely to win matches. I can’t prepare a track that assists spin. So, give something to fast bowlers instead,” Butt was quoted while talking on his YouTube channel.
“I don’t remember such slow and low pitches during my playing days. It isn’t as if we didn’t play draw Tests. But in Karachi, Irfan Pathan had taken a hat-trick, it was very lively, brilliant seaming pitch. India won in Rawalpindi, again, a very seaming pitch,” the 37-year-old former opening batsman further added.
It is important to mention that in the first Test match, 1187 runs were scored in total and 14 wickets were picked up by the bowlers throughout the Test match. 10 out of the 14 wickets were scalped by the Pakistan bowlers.
Problems in Karachi
In the second Test match, cricket fans and followers believed that things will be different and an exciting game of cricket can be experienced but in reality the situation was just the opposite.
Winning the toss, Australia skipper Pat Cummins decided to bat first in the second Test and the visitors posted a mammoth total of 556/9 (declared) in first innings. Pakistan bowlers had to bowl 180.2 overs in order to dismiss nine Australia batters.
In reply, Pakistan lost their 7 wickets scoring 100 runs, till the tea break.
