Shan Masood’s Pakistan Test captaincy career now has 6 losses from 6 matches since he took over from Babar Azam on a tour of Australia some time back. Pakistan since then has lost all matches under his captaincy.
Then it was a humiliating 0-2 Test series loss at the hands of Bangladesh, for the first time in its Test history. However, on Friday, October 11, 2024, Pakistan cricket attained new depths of humiliation as they became the first team in Test history to lose a match by an innings despite scoring 550 plus runs in its first innings.
England then replied with 823/7d with Harry Brook scoring 317 and Joe Root making 262 runs. In their second innings, Pakistan was bundled out for 220 runs and England went 1-0 up in a three-Test series.
Shan Masood, the skipper, is not keen on the batsmen shouldering the majority of the blame. For Masood, if his batting unit scored more than 500 runs in the first innings, the bowlers needed to deliver 10 wickets, but they did not.
Speaking at the post-match presentation ceremony, Masood stated that his team's 220-run total in the second innings could have been better if the bowling unit had performed well in the first innings.
"We've spoken about the third innings or fourth innings, but at the end of the day, it's a team game. Everything has its advantages or repercussions as a team. When you put up 550 on the board, it's important to back it up with 10 wickets. 220 runs in the third innings, depending on what kind of lead you have can also be a good score. England found a way to get those 20 wickets. We also have to find a way to do that. That's the challenge a side has to go forward," Masood said after the match.
After losing the first match of the series, Masood is eager to assist his team in finding a way to recover, and the only way for the captain to do so is to remain consistent.
"We're in the middle of the series, we've talked about squad mentality and consistency. No matter how the pitch is, we have to find a way out. England showed that. Sometimes you get conditions in your favor, sometimes you don't. It's a non-negotiable of Test cricket to perform on a consistent basis. We love playing the game," he said.
The biggest disappointment from the result, for Masood, remains the fact that the team isn't able to deliver the results Pakistan deserves.
"We're obviously hurt by the results, hurt as a nation. I never try and shy away from responsibility. What hurts is that we're not getting the results that Pakistan cricket deserves. We are trying to turn it around," he concluded.
(ANI inputs)
