ISLAMABAD: Pakistan are looking to end their three-match Test series against Australia on a high as they gear up for the third Test in Sydney, skipper Shan Masood said on Tuesday.
After their 360-run defeat at Perth in the series opener, Pakistan put on a spirited display in Melbourne before Australia claimed victory on the fourth day of the match. The Shan Masood-led side is now looking to avoid a whitewash by Australia.
The visitors are set to play the last match of the Benaud-Qadir Trophy at the Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG) from January 3 to January 7.
“We have learned from the mistakes we made in the first two matches. Going forth, it is about not repeating them, especially when playing against quality sides. If we keep playing like this, I am sure there will be a lot of Test wins in the future,” Shan said at a pre-match presser in Sydney.
“At Melbourne, we played good cricket all four days but there were several chances we could have seized the game. We will work on the lessons learned. We are positive about the direction our team is taking.”
Ahead of the third Test, Shan is leading the run-scoring chart for Pakistan after producing twin half-centuries in the Melbourne Test. Aamir Jamal, after making his debut in the series opener, is the second highest wicket-taker of the series so far. He has taken 12 wickets in two games, including a five-wicket haul.
Opening batter Saim Ayub will be making his Test debut, coming in place of Imam-ul-Haq. Saim had earned his maiden Test call-up following an impressive domestic season. Left-arm pacer Shaheen Shah Afridi has been rested with spinner Sajid Khan replacing him in the side.
Pakistan will be persisting with the three changes made ahead of Melbourne Test. Mir Hamza, who replaced an injured Khurram Shahzad in the playing XI, registered his career-best figures in Melbourne. He accounted for six wickets in the match, including a double-wicket maiden in Australia’s second innings. Hasan Ali and Mohammad Rizwan, who replaced Faheem Ashraf and Sarfaraz Ahmed respectively, have also kept their place in the side.
Reflecting on Shaheen, Shan said fitness and workload impacted player performance and it was important to balance them with match significance.
“Personally, and as a team, we have never had any doubts when it comes to Shaheen. If you look at his records, he has bowled the highest number of overs in a while in world cricket. It is up to us to make sure he is looked after, physically and mentally,” the skipper said.
“Fitness and workload impact performance. Our all-format players have been playing continuous cricket for a while now— they have played three World Cups in the past three years while also playing the World Test Championship simultaneously. We have been trying to address this to balance match significance and workload.”
Shan said players like Khurram Shahzad, Aamir Jamal and Mir Hamza had done well in tough conditions, which reflected success of Pakistan’s domestic system as it had broadened the side’s bench strength.
“We want to give similar chances to our batters too, so we can widen our player pool in each department,” he added.
Pakistan squad:
Shan Masood (c), Saim Ayub, Abdullah Shafique, Babar Azam, Saud Shakeel, Mohammad Rizwan (wk), Salman Ali Agha, Sajid Khan, Aamir Jamal, Hasan Ali and Mir Hamza
