Pakistan lost the match by 21 runs. (Source: AP)
Pakistan lost the first Tes of the two-match series against Sri Lanka by 21 runs and coach Mickey Arthur insisted that it was Azhar Ali’s early departure that emerged out to be a “big blow” for his side.
“This is a young batting line-up, obviously trying to find their way. Losing Azhar Ali early was a big blow,” Arthur told.
“We discussed at lunch break that we needed one good partnership and wanted that up front, but didn’t get that. That put us under pressure. We were always going to be under pressure as the game goes on because we couldn’t expect the tail to get us over the line,” Arthur added.
Rangana Herath scalped 6 wickets in the second innings and talking about the left-arm spinner Arthur suggested “We did a lot of homework on him. We have played him a lot. But obviously on the last day he was always going to be a factor and you have got to give him more respect but I would probably have liked to see our batsmen take him on.”
Moreover, Arthur said that if the batsmen would allow a bowler like Herath to settle, he would surely push the side on backfoot.
“Once you take him on and that goes for any bowler, the game sort of settles down. For a period when Sarfraz (Ahmed) and Haris (Sohail) were going on, it was looking good. They had to remain positive and not getting tentative and looking for runs. If you allow Herath to settle down, he will do what he did today. So I would have liked him being attacked more,” he said.
Stay updated with the latest sports news across Cricket, Football, Chess, and more. Catch all the action with real-time live cricket score updates and in-depth coverage of ongoing matches.
2 min read
