Kevin Pietersen not surprised by Pakistan’s performance at the Lord’s

Amidst all the drama in the Indian Premier League (IPL), there is a test match happening at the Lord’s between England and Pakistan. The home team had a different look to its side with Jos Buttler and Dominic Bess included in the playing XI. It was Ed Smith’s first team as England’s selector and he surely threw up a few surprises. However, England started the game as favourites because they are very strong in their backyard and the oppositions have found it difficult to survive in English conditions.

On the other hand, Pakistan had a relatively inexperienced side as many of their players were playing test cricket in England for the first time. Their middle order has largely been untested and the pressure was on youngsters to deliver for their nation.

The visitors pounced on the home team and have dominated the game so far. England was bowled out for 184 in the first innings and Pakistan went on to score 363 in English conditions thanks to some poor fielding efforts from Joe Root’s men. Just when England was staring at an innings defeat, Buttler and Bess revived England’s innings as they closed the day with a lead of 56 runs.

A lot of homework done

Kevin Pietersen, former England player is not surprised by Pakistan’s show at the Lord’s. He tweeted: “Not surprised at all by Pakistan’s performance at Lords. I played under Safraz for 3 seasons of PSL & he certainly has a winning instinct! Mickey also very smart!”

Not surprised at all by Pakistan’s performance at Lords.
I played under Safraz for 3 seasons of PSL & he certainly has a winning instinct!
Mickey also very smart!

— Kevin Pietersen (@KP24) May 26, 2018

At the start of the match, nobody expected Pakistan to do so well at Lord’s. They had some talented players in the lineup but their batting did not have the numbers to back the talent. Sarfraz Ahmed and Micky Arthur seemed to have done a lot of homework heading into the game as the team looked comfortable in English conditions. However, the visitors cannot afford to relax as they still have a lot of work to do and the English side has some experienced players who can turn the tide at any point of time.

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