“Harsh reality is that…”: Shan Masood speaks after thrashing defeat to England

Pakistan captain Shan Masood admitted that he was gutted after an innings defeat in the first Test against England despite the hosts putting up 556 in the first innings.

“It is disappointing to lose again. England found a way to win the match; they created their window of opportunity. Harsh reality is that test cricket quality sides find a way to win matches,” Masood told the media.

Masood scored 151 in the first innings to lead his team to a big total which was surpassed by England who declared at 823/7 after a brilliant 317 from Harry Brook and 262 from Joe Root.

“I wouldn’t say my team is mentally weak but we expected this pitch to break by the third day onwards that is why we prolonged our innings. But at the end of the day you have to find ways to take 20 wickets and we are not doing that in recent times,” Masood said.

He pointed out that Pakistan had played a Test in Multan for the first time since 2022 and thus, didn’t get a chance to interact with the curator or groundsmen.

“Both squads were different this time in Multan. But we need to improve on ways to adapt too conditions and situations every day of a test and find ways to win as pitch changes everyday,” Masood said.

The Pakistan skipper admitted that the team was not learning from its mistakes and repeating them again and again.

“We can’t blame anyone but ourselves. Where we made lapses they didn’t and capitalized on their opportunities. The pitch character did change on the fourth day when we came to bat as some cracks had opened up and there was a little something for the bowlers with the new ball,” Masood added.

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