Shan Masood relishes Pakistan's 'adaptability' and 'sacrifices' of his batters

Though the series was going to be played in Pakistan, the hosts were never favourites to win it. Pakistan had hit rock-bottom and following the first-ever series defeat to Bangladesh, that also at home, just one month back, there was little to be optimistic about.

But, Pakistan cricket is at its best when there is chaos, and there was plenty of it following a defeat in the first Multan Test. It resulted in one of the most epic comeback series wins for Pakistan as the second Multan Test brought a 152-run victory and the Rawalpindi Test finished within two days and one session with Pakistan's commanding nine-wicket win.

Pakistan ripped apart their previous supposed blueprint of success - which revolved around seam-friendly conditions - to produce rank turners to give themselves a shot at picking 20 England wickets. After conceding 823 for seven on a dead deck in the first Test, Pakistan bowled out England four times for 814 runs in the next two Tests. The spinners took all of these 40 wickets with Sajid Khan, the player of the series, and Noman Ali doing the heavy lifting, taking 19 and 20 wickets each.

Sajid and Noman broke several records in Pakistan's historic Test series win - their first since they defeated South Africa in February 2021. The most recent saw Sajid become the first spinner to take 10 wickets in a match at Rawalpindi.

The new template, however, has brought struggles for Pakistan batters too. Things might have been different had Saud Shakeel not rescued his side with a gritty 134 yesterday after Pakistan slipped to 177 for 7 with a trail of 90 to surmount.

Shan Masood reminded about the sacrifices that his batters have had to make so Sajid and Noman could do what they did. "This is a team game and we should appreciate the fact that our batting unit has made a sacrifice for the bowlers to take 20 wickets," he said when he was put on spot by a journalist about his form and the inconsistent runs of openers Saim Ayub and Abdullah Shafique. "We played Bangladesh on seam-friendly pitches and England in these conditions so we can take 20 wickets. In such conditions, the responsibility of the batting unit is to set matches for the bowlers and it may result in low scores. Yesterday, Rizwan and I played uncharacteristic innings as we batted for 50 and 70 balls, respectively, but those 120 balls made the job easier for Saud, Sajid, and Noman. So this is a team game."

After scoring what was his fourth century in Tests, Shakeel told the host broadcasters at the close of play that it was easier to score runs against the spinners when the ball lost its hardness as compared to earlier in the innings. England and Pakistan had played three frontline spinners in the third Test. While Pakistan bowled all their overs with spin, England called on Gus Atkinson for only 12 of the 100 overs they bowled.

Pakistan's decision to open with the young pair of Saim and Abdullah is yet to bear fruit. The pair has opened for Pakistan in all six Tests they have played this year and averages only eight in 12 innings. Their 35-run stand in the first innings of this Test was the best.

"Day before yesterday, the 35-run partnership between Abdullah and Saim was beneficial for the team," Shan continued. "We always look at individual performances from the perspective of how they have helped the team. It is very easy to say that someone has not performed or have not led from the front, but we should rather look at what he has done for the team. We got characters in the last two games who have contributed for the team in the field, with the bat, and with the ball.

"Saim and Abdullah are the future of Pakistan cricket. The openers have had lesser returns since the beginning of the World Test Championship - it is a fact. So unless we develop our players, we will continue to chop and change. Pakistan team needs stability at the moment. But when we think that changes are necessary to put the team on a winning track, we will make them, as we did after the first Test."

Masood praised his side for adapting to the new template that the new members of the selection committee - Aaqib Javed, Aleem Dar, and Azhar Ali - had enforced upon the side. The Pakistan captain had said in a media conference in Karachi - before departing for Multan in the lead up to this series - that Pakistan felt more at home by emulating Australia like seam-conducive surfaces after the experiment of green surfaces had backfired against Bangladesh.

Cricbuzz had revealed after the second Test that the Pakistan Cricket Board chairperson empowered the new selection committee to take all the cricket-related calls during the series and Pakistan red ball head coach Jason Gillespie revealed that he was "