Sarfraz proves detractors wrong with a fighting 94
abu dhabi — Pakistan skipper Sarfraz Ahmed is fighting many battles — lack of form, runs, wins, poor decision making and so on. But on the day when his team needed him the most, Sarfraz clicked against Australia in the second Test at Sheikh Zayed Cricket Stadium in Abu Dhabi.
Earlier in the day, his boys mocked his decision to bat first by succumbing to 57 for five. And then Sarfraz (94) with debutant Fakhar Zaman (94) resurrected Pakistan with a 147-run partnership to put 282 on the board. When on 90, Sarfraz was struck in his left forearm by Mitchell Starc’s delivery but he played through pain.
“At 57 for five, there was lot of pressure on me as a captain. It was unthinkable situation. The nature of the pitch was changing drastically and ball was gripping a lot. I tried to play positive cricket and went on offensive. Such a strategy helped to take the team out of the hole. Fakhar Zaman also played a superb innings and gave fantastic support. We had a good partnership and reached a decent total. Now the match is evenly balanced,” he said and added that his innings was very mentally and physically relaxing. “But there is no time to rest and we need to fight on from here on.”
However, Sarfraz isn’t sure if he will be fit on time for wicket keeping duties or even miss the entire day.
“When I was hit (by Mitchell Starc’s delivery on 90 runs) it was very painful but I continued as the team needed me and I was nearing my century. There is swelling and I will apply ice pack. I am hopeful it will be fine for second day. If I am not fit then we may use reserve keeper (Mohammad Rizwan).”
Talking about his own state of mind, he said: “There is pressure from everywhere — some said I need to quit captaincy, some said I need to stop playing Test cricket and some said I need to be removed from the team. All of these aspects are always there.”
He added that under pressure, it was his best innings after his century effort in 2015 World Cup. He is also clueless about the way pitch turned on the first day.
“This was unexpected (12 wickets in a day). The amount of turn was also surprising. This pitch has never played this way. We have played 10-15 Test matches here. The pitch offers turn but on fourth or fifth day and not on the first day. This is a very different pitch. We will try to get them out as soon as we can, score big and put pressure on Australia in final innings,” the skipper said.
Australia ended the day at 20 for 2 wickets, still trailing by 262 runs.