Pakistan are banking on their spin strength to seal the Test series against South Africa after defeating the Proteas men in the first Test match in Lahore on Wednesday, interim red-ball head coach Azhar Mahmood said at a press conference ahead of the second match on Monday.
Left-arm spinner Noman Ali was South Africa’s main tormentor as Pakistan won the first Test by 93 runs. With a daunting target of 277 runs for victory, the visitors and World Test champions were bowled out for 183 on the fourth day.
“The camp before the series was aimed at adapting the spin on these types of pitches; different shots, scoring options,” Mahmood said at the press conference. “We are trying that if we play with this method at home, we will know how to play spin.”
Mahmood noted that the playing eleven will be decided on the morning of the match after seeing the field conditions, and said there is a possibility of some changes “but not too many.”
“As for the draw, we don’t want the entire match to be decided by draw.
“I said this before the series too, that these pitches are not West Indies pitches, this pitch played better than that one. So the aim is that even if we lose the toss, let’s try to make 350 (runs) in the first innings,” said Mahmood, who was appointed interim coach of the men’s team in June.
When asked how important it is to win a series 2-0, Mahmood acknowledged the confidence boost that comes with winning against a team like South Africa.
“We hope to do the best we can. There is no guarantee of the outcome, because we need to improve our process and be consistent with our basics over a long period of time,” he said.
“When you play at home, you need to see how you are going to take 20 wickets, whether through spin or pace. Wherever we play, the aim is to win. We have the ability to bowl fast.”
Mahmood added: “As long as the opposition comes from abroad, we can plan against them differently. Countries that fight against misrepresentations, we will try to play with them and reverse them.”
During the press conference, Mahmood also clarified the criticism against him based on an “incorrect narrative” being used against him.
“There has been a lot of criticism on social media because I said last time that we don’t have quality spinners. You can watch any press conference of mine and see that I said we don’t have spinners in the team; I never said we don’t have spinners in the country.”
Mahmood also praised Pakistan’s batsmen, saying that all seven who played scored runs and “everyone did their part.”
“Unfortunately, our lower order didn’t perform, so we hope they don’t just do it with the ball. You must have also seen in the previous series that Noman, Sajid performed well, so Hassan Ali can bat and Shaheen can bat.
“The top seven is the top seven, but lower order runs also matter, something we didn’t do in the previous Test,” Mahmood said, adding that South Africa made 90 runs from their last four wickets.
“We are playing against the best team and obviously they are not going to take it lightly, they will give everything to come back; they trusted a lot in one of their spinners, who is one of the best in the world. It will bring us many challenges.”
“In the camp we had thought about all kinds of challenges that would come, from Mahraj, from Rabada, so we prepared accordingly.
The preparation is done, now it’s time to execute.
“We know the challenges that will come and we need to figure out how to deal with them. On that day, it’s all about execution and making the right decision while batting, bowling or fielding,” Mahmood said.
Regarding winning the World Test Championship, he said Pakistan will play six Test matches at home.
“Obviously we have to go step by step to get there: you need to play in overseas conditions, play in the West Indies, Bangladesh, England. So the process I keep talking about, we have to take the matches one by one. With the Test matches we will take it session by session.
“This team has been playing for a long time, the boys’ morale is quite high, they knew it was important to win the game and you could see the effort they put in. They have confidence and everyone gets along and plays together. This is what a team needs to build,” he said.
