Final Test might witness another masterclass from Yasir Shah in Abu Dhabi.
Head Coach Mickey Arthur lavished praise on his “vital cog” Yasir Shah for his incredible show with his leg-spin in the second Test of the three-match series against New Zealand, saying his "phenomenal" spell was some of the “best leg-spin bowling you’ll ever see” in the Test cricket.
Arthur further went on to laud the veteran blower, saying that his devastating spell was the best rhythm he has seen him in and believes that he will get better and better from Dubai show.
With the help of Yasir’s masterclass, Pakistan won the second Test by an innings and 16 runs against the Black Caps and leveled the series with the final Test to be played from December 3 in Abu Dhabi.
Arthur told media at the post-match ceremony on Tuesday, “It was fantastic, superb to watch. He got a nice rhythm and We knew he had a big performance inside of him. That first inning, I think there was a spell of about half an hour of the best leg-spin bowling you will ever see. The drift, the pace, the spin, was phenomenal. It was incredible bowling. Fourteen wickets in a Test match is superb.”
Best match figures for Pakistani bowlers:
— ICC (@ICC) November 27, 2018
1. Imran Khan 14/116 v Sri Lanka, 1982
2. Yasir Shah 14/184 v New Zealand, 2018
3. Abdul Qadir 13/103 v England,1987
4. Fazal Mahmood 13/114 v Australia, 1956
5. Waqar Younis 13/135 v Zimbabwe, 1993 pic.twitter.com/o2FITFc3Nm
With his extraordinary performance, Yasir ended with an amazing haul of 14 for 184 in Dubai, equaled Anil Kumble’s record of picking up 10 wickets in a single day of Test and is on the verge to break Australian leg-spinner Clarrie Grimmett’s 93-year-old record of being fastest to 200 wickets in 36 Tests.
With 195 scalps to his name in his 32 outings at the moment, Yasir needs now only five scalps to overtook Clarrie and become fastest ever to 200 wickets landmark and he might achieve the feat in the final Test if he maintains his sizzling form in Abu Dhabi.
The coach further said in praise for the star spinner, “Yasir is very comfortable mentally, and he knows what an important cog he is in our Test line-up. He got his rhythm going and we felt he was really good. This is the best rhythm I've seen him have and I think he'll get better and better from here.”
Arthur signed off by saying, “That's key for us as a coaching staff, is keeping those players going all the time. Because when they leave us and they're inactive for a period it always takes us some time to get them back up to where they need to be again. It was really good to see Yasir get back into that rhythm today and hopefully, he takes that forward to Abu Dhabi.”
(With AFP Inputs)