Sarfraz Ahmed attributes the 1st Test collapse to Babar Azam's run-out

Pakistan suffered a monumental collapse against the Black Caps on Monday in the first Test in Abu Dhabi to concede a series lead. Pakistan were cruising, sitting at a comfortable position on 130/3, chasing 176 on the fourth day. However, they were undone by a flurry of wickets after which the team crashed to a gut-wrenching defeat.

Their pursuit of 176 started strongly, putting on 82 for the opening wicket. It was from 130/3 that the collapse triggered. There was a terrible mix-up between Babar Azam and Asad Shafiq and as a result, both the men standing at the same end. From there on, Pakistan lost their last six wickets for 41 runs to end up four runs short of the target.

The skipper Sarfraz Ahmed expressed his grievance that the run-out of Babar Azam turned the tables on hosts. After Azam’s run-out, the Kiwi debutant Ajaz Patel finished with 5/59 to give hosts a shocker. “I think our team was not able to handle the pressure. Babar’s run out, 40 runs were left in the chase can be termed as the turning point as it initiated the collapse,” Sarfraz was quoted as saying by Sportstar.

Sarfraz rues soft dismissals

The skipper also further mentioned that “We have given away soft wickets. Nobody played a long inning. It is very disappointing to say the least. The way we started off yesterday we felt we will get through to the target easily. But then we lost three wickets and it was important for the set players to play on but that did not happen and you have to praise New Zealand’s bowlers, especially Patel.

The wicketkeeper-batsman also said that the players needed to spend some time on the crease to chase the tricky score. “A batsman need to spend time on this wicket. There has been a trend, of both teams, losing wicket in clumps. We should have chased it down. It is indeed very disappointing,” he added.

“The message for the batsmen was to continue playing positive cricket like we had the last day. Our dismissals were soft. This is what we must look at as a batting unit. Out batsmen have taken starts but haven’t been able to prolong their innings. We will try to forget what has happened and focus on the next goal.”

The second Test starts on Saturday in Dubai where Pakistan seek to level the series and New Zealand will want to keep the momentum in their favour.

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