Mohammad Abbas picked nine wickets including a fifer in the second innings at Lord's.
Pakistan pacer Mohammad Abbas was the only shining light in an otherwise gloomy performance by the visitors in the recent second Test against England. This game was played at Lord's, and Pakistan lost the game by 194 runs and went down 0-2 in the three-Test series.
Abbas picked 4/74 as England made 290 in the first innings of the second test. But Pakistan were bundled out for 110 runs in their first innings. England replied with 208 runs in the second innings, and Abbas shined with 5/57 and nine wickets in the game.
However, Pakistan didn’t put up a fight in the chase of the 389-run target and was bowled out for 194 runs, losing the game and the series.
The Pakistan team is currently wallowing at the bottom of the ICC World Test Championship standings as a result of this and the innings loss in their series opener in Leeds.
Mohammad Abbas, who got his name up on the Lord’s honors board, said, following the match, that Pakistan was well aware of their situation in the format.
"Our performance is a concern for everyone. Everyone is worried, including the selection committee and the NCA. We are not doing well; we accept that. We are not batting, bowling, or fielding well, and we discuss this all the time in meetings. We are all working on it, and we need to be, too," Abbas said after the game, as quoted by ICC.
Abbas identified fielding, which has historically been a problem for Pakistani cricket, as a crucial aspect of the game that the team needed to improve.
"We dropped catches, and their key players scored 70-odd extra runs. That is where the match changed because we could have bowled them out for 200. It is disappointing," he added.
Abbas downplayed his nine-wicket haul and fifer in the second innings and stated that Pakistan not securing wins in recent games is a concern for him.
Abbas (32 Tests), Mohammad Ali (8 Tests), and Khurram Shahzad (10 Tests) are the pace attack for Pakistan in this England Test series.
"Individual performances are important, but I try to perform to help the team win. It has been many matches that I have performed, but the team has not won. In Bangladesh, we had a different bowling combination than here. We won a Test in the West Indies. The guys are adjusting, but experience is very important in Test cricket. I have played 32 Test matches, but the fast bowlers playing with me are very new to Test cricket. But everybody is trying to improve," he said.
The third and final Test will be played in Leeds from September 9, where Pakistan will look for a consolation win in the ongoing WTC cycle.
(ANI inputs)