Golden opportunity for Pakistan to win Test and series: Sallu
Archive
KARACHI: “Our batsmen and bowlers have put Pakistan in the driving seat in Dhaka and this is a golden opportunity for our team to win the Test by an innings and clinch the series.”
This was stated on Thursday by former Test cricketer and chief selector Salahuddin Ahmed Sallu who went on to add that the pitch will deteriorate further at the Sher-e-Bangla Stadium to make life difficult for the hosts.
“The Bangladesh batsmen are facing the music now since the pitch at Dhaka is playing lot of tricks and our bowling has been spot on,” said Sallu. “The home team are still 450 runs behind which are lot of runs to play with for Misbah-ul-Haq and his army who must go for an innings victory.
“The Wahab Riaz bouncer that baffled Mahmudullah and the last over scalp of skipper Mushfiqur Rahim who was bowled off a brilliant googly from Yasir Shah is ample proof that this pitch has a lot to offer to the bowlers compared to the Khulna wicket in the first Test,” observed Sallu.
Praising the entire team’s efforts in propelling Pakistan to the driving seat, Sallu said both Younis Khan and Azhar Ali batted superbly to lay the foundations for a huge total.
“Both Younis and Azhar batted marvellously well to keep the Bangladesh bowling at bay and pile up a commanding total,” said Sallu.
“Azhar’s double hundred is another feather in his cap while young Asad Shafiq also deserves the accolades for hitting a fluent ton to take Pakistan to 557 for eight which has clearly put the hosts under pressure now.”
Sallu further said that it is good to see Junaid Khan and Wahab coming good on Thursday and the fine support they received from Yasir.
“It is great to see that our bowlers are bowling well and have successfully shrugged off the first Test disappointment when Bangladesh managed to save the match despite being 300 runs in arrears,” he said.
Published in Dawn, May 8th, 2015
On a mobile phone? Get the Dawn Mobile App: Apple Store | Google Play
