Cook and Root took the game away from us: Misbah-ul-Haq

Pakistan skipper Misbah-ul-Haq has lamented the poor performance from his side in the second Test match at Manchester. England completed a 330-run win at Old Trafford on the fourth evening as the visitors were outplayed in all the three departments of the game.

Speaking after the game about the massive loss, Misbah was quoted by ESPNcricinfo saying, ”We were below average and need to improve in every department. We could not really build the pressure and we let them score a massive total in the first innings. It is difficult to come back in the game facing 600. The toss was vital on that pitch, but England played really well. Alastair Cook and Root almost took the game away from us. They set the tone.”

“That was the difference from Lord’s. At Lord’s, Root was out cheaply in both innings and we got Cook out cheaply in the second innings. Then they struggled. Root and Cook are their main players. They really depend on them – the others are struggling – but the way Root played in this game… it was an amazing innings,” he added.

Batting was a big disappointment: Misbah

Misbah lashed out at the batsmen for not even scoring 250 runs in either innings as they were bowled out for 198 and 234 on the first and second innings respectively.

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”But our batting was a big disappointment. It was a good pitch to bat on but we scored 198 and 234. You can’t take that. On that pitch, you can score 350 plus even if you are batting second or fourth. Some of the batsmen are getting in, but not converting their starts. We really need them to do that,” he said.

Misbah said that the match-winner of the first Test match, Yasir Shah could not really bowl with control and consistency as he had done in the first Test at Lord’s. ”Maybe there was a bit of tiredness after he bowled a lot of overs in the previous Test. But there was a big difference in this match compared to the previous one. He could not really bowl with that control and consistency.”

“They played him well. And there wasn’t much help for him from the surface on the first two days. They were two good players facing him and it is totally different when there are runs on the board. It creates pressure. But we know he is a strong character and before the next Test he will definitely analyse what went wrong,” he further explained.

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He also pointed out that one of the major differences between the two sides was the all-rounders in the arsenal. England had the services of Moeen Ali, Ben Stokes, and Chris Woakes, whereas Pakistan only had Mohammad Hafeez, who is also banned from bowling.

Sharing his views on this topic, Misbah said, ”Hafeez is not bowling. But on a pitch like that, it could have made a difference. Especially with the opposition having four or five left-handers on their side. They have a lot of allrounders. That really gives them strength. We don’t have the option of a fifth bowler. That’s the limitation we have. But this is how we have to live at the moment.”

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