Pakistan were waiting for the new ball that they never needed to break the resistance of Nasir Hossain and Mushfiqur Rahim, said skipper Misbah-ul Haq after a seven-wicket victory over Bangladesh in the second Test on Wednesday.
Nasir and Mushfiq denied Pakistan any wicket on the fifth morning and threatened to kill their hopes for a win before left-arm spinner Abdur Rehman finally ended their resistance.
Pakistan needed just over an hour after the lunch break to dismiss Bangladesh finally to give their batsmen at least some time to complete the win.
The second new ball in the Bangladesh innings was still 16 overs away when Bangladesh resumed play after the lunch break with 200-5 on board.
Misbah did not go for the new ball when it was due as by that time Bangladesh were already wagging their tail with only two wickets in hand. Saeed Ajmal took the last two wickets with the old ball in his hand as the home side were all out for 234 runs.
‘I think the plan was simple at the moment,’ Misbah told reporters after the game. ‘Nothing was happening as the ball was not turning, so we planned to finish off the bowling quickly so that we can take the new ball in quick time and just stop the flow of runs,’ he said. ‘That was the plan, if we get wickets in between that was okay. I think when we built pressure by two three maiden overs the batsmen were under pressure. We just got wickets and we even did not need the new ball as the spinners finished it off,’ said Misbah.
Misbah, however, still saw a great room for improvement for his side after they failed to take their chance in the first innings. Pakistan reduced Bangladesh to 43-4 in the first innings but Sakib al Hasan and Shahriar Nafees seized the initiative from his side to add 180 runs in a record stand that provided the cornerstone in Bangladesh’s 338.
‘In this particular match especially when we got four quick wickets we should have booked them by 200 runs,’ he said. ‘Sakib and Shahriar deserve credit but after 30-4 [43-4] we should have bowled much better. We need to have discipline in bowling. Even today we were giving runs at a healthy rate,’ he said.
The skipper has no complaint about batting despite them being criticised for a slow approach in the first innings.
‘In my view the result on its own will defend itself [for our batting],’ said Misbah. ‘There is no use in becoming aggressive when you are losing match instead of winning it. The best strategy for the team is that which helps the team to win the match. When the team is winning I think we are playing well,’ he said.
-With New Age input
