'Pitch didn't get anyone out': Mahmood on Pakistan's batting collapse

LAHORE: Pakistan’s interim red-ball head coach Azhar Mahmood expressed dissatisfaction with his batting unit’s shot selection during the second innings of their first Test against South Africa here at the Gaddafi Stadium on Tuesday.

The home side were in a dominant position at the stroke of Tea on day three as they were leading by 259 runs with six wickets in hand.

However, just 45 minutes into the final session, the Green Shirts lost all six remaining wickets for a mere 17 runs and were consequently bowled out for a meagre 167, setting South Africa a 277-run target.

Although left-arm spinner Noman Ali’s twin strike kept Pakistan on top by the end of day’s play, their interim red-ball head coach Mahmood called for improvement and patience if they are to benefit from home conditions by curating spin-friendly pitches.

"We put ourselves in this situation [where South Africa have a chance in the game]," Mahmood said at the press conference. "We were 150 for 4, and then lost 6 for 17. No one is to blame but our shot selection and decision-making.

"It's simple. If you lose 6 for 17, that's not ideal. The pitch allowed the ball to break but the pitch didn't get anyone out. Our shot selection was not good. This is something we need to improve. If we're going to play on these pitches, we have to have the patience to bat on them."

Azhar Mahmood acknowledged the pitch as ‘not easy’ to bat on but argued that it gets easier for the batters as the time progresses.

"Against England, we played on a used pitch, and then it spun a lot versus West Indies," Mahmood said. "But on this pitch, if you bat well, it gets easier. Because the pitch is slow, it's hard for a newcomer to get set. In the first innings, we had starts, but we couldn't convert 50s to 100s. In the second innings, Abdullah [Shafique] and Babar [Azam] scored 40s, but we'd like to see them turn into big scores.

"It's not easy, but we have to adapt different kinds of shots to improve our scoring options on these pitches. The middle and lower order tried, but the pressure got to them. At tea, we wanted to bat the whole session, but we did not. We made those mistakes and we will have a look at that in the future."