RAWALPINDI: Pakistan’s left-handed opener Imam-ul-Haq commented on the team’s batting approach in response to England’s mammoth total of 657 in the first innings of the ongoing Rawalpindi Test.
Pakistan batters had a tough task ahead of them when England batters finished at a massive 657 at the back of four centuries from Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Ollie Pope and Harry Brook.
The hosts, however, did not hold back on what is considered to be a batting paradise as centuries from Imam, Abdullah Shafique and captain Babar Azam put Pakistan in a fighting position as they finished at 499/7 and are still 158 runs behind.
One of Pakistan’s centurions Imam then talked to the media after the conclusion of the third day, which too remained majorly dominated by the batters and shared how Pakistan’s batters approached England’s massive total.
“Sometimes, when you see the opposition team scoring 650 runs it gives you a really tough time mentally as the expectations from us also mount that we too, will play longer,” said Imam.
“Since they have played the first innings and scored a massive total so we were not left with many chances, we can’t take risks and also need to save the team,” he added.
The left-handed opener then responded to a question regarding Pakistan’s approach towards the outcome of the high-scoring match and shared that the team is not thinking yet to go for the draw.
“Again when there are 650 runs on the board, so obviously, first of all, we have to save ourselves. But, we did not think about going for the draw as of yet because their total was around 650 so we had to play four to five sessions at least to get closer to them,” Imam shared.
Imam then went on to predict the nature of the pitch in the last two days by sharing that it has already started breaking and he also experienced a little uneven bounce on the third day.
“I noted the variations in the pitch today. It started to break and bowlers were getting a little more bounce but sometimes it kept low,” shared Imam.
“It was the third-day wicket so in upcoming days it would definitely change and might no longer be a batting paradise,” Imam stated.
“But again I would say, we would play as per the situations we get and play in the present and once we get in a certain situation then we will also be looking at the future that either we have to go for the chase or to fight for the draw,” he maintained.
It is pertinent to mention that Pakistan gave a befitting response to England’s record 657-run total as the home side raised 499/7 before stumps with help of Imam, Abdullah and Babar’s centuries.
READ: Pakistan even response with three tons hangs Rawalpindi Test in balance
