'I believe Pakistan can still win the series' - Inzamam-ul-Haq confident for Azhar Ali and Co after Manchester defeat

Pakistan’s defeat against England at Old Trafford, Manchester on Sunday in the inaugural match of the three-match Test series has raised a lot of questions over the team management and the competence of the players.

The visiting team had a strong start as they managed to put up a decent score of 326 on the board in the first innings. Opening batsman Shan Masood emerged as a hero for the Pakistan team as he scored his career-best 156. Babar Azam and Shadab Khan also played cameos to help Pakistan take a lead.

In reply, England couldn’t do much as they collapsed after making 219 runs. Bowlers Shaheen Afridi, Mohammad Abbas and Yasir Shah played a massive part in tearing apart England’s batting line-up. All this led to Pakistan taking a 107-run lead after the first innings.

Despite the lead, the visitors succumbed to pressure as they got all out at 169 runs in just 46.4 overs in the second innings. Even after being at 117-5 on the fourth day, the hosts tasted success owing to the 139-run partnership between Chris Woakes and Jos Buttler. Woakes’ unbeaten 84 and Buttler’s knock of 75 runs helped England register an unlikely victory over Pakistan.

Pakistan players seemed under pressure: Inzamam-ul-Haq

In the meantime, former Pakistan captain Inzamam-ul-Haq mentioned that the visitors, led by Azhar Ali, still have the potential to win and should focus on their body language and not succumb to pressure.

Speaking on his official YouTube channel, Inzamam said, “I think Pakistan team is better than England and we should have won the first Test. It’s very disappointing but I believe Pakistan can still win the series.”

“When you are going through a tough phase, the team’s body language should not change. This was clearly the case in the first Test because Pakistan players seemed under pressure after the second innings batting collapse on the third day,” he added.

Emphasizing on the role of the team management, the former captain stated that the players should be kept in the right frame of mind for the upcoming matches. As per him, instead of focusing on the negatives, the management should look at the positives and encourage the players to use their full potential.

“The role of the team management is vital after such a defeat because the players’ morale will be down. They need to talk about the positives, like scoring 300 plus runs and the first innings lead, rather than focusing on the negatives,” he said.

Pakistan would be up against England for the second Test starting from August 13, Thursday at Southampton followed by the last and final Test from August 21, Friday at the same venue.