Sarfaraz Ahmed’s dominating 94 runs on the opening day of the second Test against Australia helped Pakistan recover from 57/5 and took them to a commanding position. This knock came as a relief for Sarfaraz as he was struggling to score runs in recent times.

Addressing the media after the end of first day’s play, Sarfaraz said: "There was a lot of pressure. There were noises from all around. Some were asking me to leave Test cricket. Some were asking me to leave captaincy. Some were calling for my axing from the team. Some brought in the Karachi-Lahore rivalry. This [knock] has given me some relief."

By bringing the Karachi-Lahore rivalry, the Pakistan captain was actually venting his frustration on people who often accuse him of having the backing from Karachi media.

Sarfaraz’s comment, however, didn’t go down too well with the former Pakistan speedster Shoaib Akhtar. Taking to Twitter, Akhtar said he couldn’t believe that our national captain talks like this at a media conference.

“I really don’t understand what problems Sarfaraz is talking about on the tv about Kharachi & Lahore !?? Am bit lost hearing from our captain guys... Is he for real..??” Shoaib tweeted.

He also advised Sarfaraz to focus on cricket and asked him to learn the tricks of avoiding off-field debates.

“Sarfraz should only focus on cricket & should learn how to win games on the field & not off the field. Certain pressure are there as captain but face them as leader & take those pressure as opportunities not as set back ..good luck to greens caps ..” Akhtar further wrote.

Sarfaraz Ahmed's counter-attack after Pakistan were in trouble before lunch not only put the Australian bowlers off guard for a while but also took his team from a precarious position to that of respectability. His 147-run stand with Fakhar Zaman, who also played a knock of 94 runs, helped Pakistan get to 282 in the first innings at Abu Dhabi.