Batting collapses a major worry for Pakistan coach Arthur

For Pakistan, it was the same old story of pressure sucking them in. And without the former two stalwarts — Misbahul-Haq and Younis Khan — they got tangled in Rangana Herath’s magical spell of spin bowling.

This was not a one-off incident, it has been a perennial problem for Pakistan — one that they haven’t been able to tackle yet.

Since 2016, five times Pakistan have lost 10 wickets in a day and in this case, it resulted in their first loss in Abu Dhabi; a fortress where they had not lost in nine Tests, since 2010.

South African coach Mickey Arthur accepted that Pakistan have to find a solution for their collapses.

“Look, it is a trend and I can’t sit here and say that our batting line-up is a young line-up. You got to cut your teeth in international cricket. That’s certainly expected from our batsmen. It’s disappointing. Call it pressure, I’m not sure. That’s something which we will sit down, discuss and dissect going forward,” said a dejected-looking Arthur.

Though Azhar Ali and Asad Safiq both failed in No 3 and No 4 slots, respectively, the coach was of the view that he would still prefer them being there for the next match.

“Yes, I think that’s our best batting line-up. I think your best batsman should bat at three and our best is Azhar. Asad has batted at six for most of his career and he has to come up and take responsibility,” said Arthur, who has his task cut out to get the right combination before the teams meet again in Dubai on Friday.