'Greener pastures' didn't yield desired results

Sheikh Zayed Cricket Stadium was a fortress for the Pakistan cricket team. They had never lost a Test match in Abu Dhabi until the Monday mayhem. It was an impenetrable territory under the captaincy of Misbah ul Haq but Sarfraz Ahmed failed to replicate the success rate in his very first match as a Test captain.

The loss turned out to be shocker because of the manner in which Pakistani batsmen capitulated. Chasing a tricky victory target of 136 runs, they lost three wickets, including both the openers, with just 16 on the board. It then became 36 for five and after a brief resistance, 98 for seven. The tail didn't wag either. It was Lankan spinner Rangana Herath & Co running through the batting order.

More than anything else, it will be the success of the spinners, which will hurt skipper Sarfraz.

After the loss, he said: "This is part of the game but I'm very disappointed because we had recovered really well in this game. We should have won this. We have a few issues, especially on the fifth day when we came under pressure."

Yes, the skipper was 'disappointed' with the loss but the premonitions were there right from the selection of playing XI and once the toss was lost, Pakistan were always going to have 'issues' and come 'under pressure' on the fifth day.

What will hurt Sarfraz is the fact that he got deceived by the grass on the pitch. He, being an experienced hand and a wicket keeper at that, should have been wise enough.

Sarfraz had great reference points to look at before packing three fast bowlers and just one spinner in Yasir Shah for this match. His counterpart Dinesh Candimal, on the other hand, loaded his team with three spinners - an important factor that tilted the balance in Lanka's favour on the final day of the Test.

Misbah or Younis Khan wouldn't have entered the field with just Yasir Shah, who by the way, alone grabbed eight wickets.

Sarfraz could have just looked back to last October when Pakistan had outclassed West Indies. Misbah had employed three spinners in Yasir Shah, Zulfiqar Babar and Mohammad Nawaz, and two pacers in Rahat Ali and Sohail Khan. The spinners grabbed 13 wickets and fast bowlers six. The result: Pakistan won by 133 runs.

Let us roll back a few years, when Pakistan had a longer stay in Abu Dhabi and had taken on Australia and New Zealand in 2014.

First facing Australia in the last match of the series, Misbah kept faith in Mohammad Hafeez apart from Zulfiqar Babar and Yasir Shah. Then it was Rahat Ali and Imran Khan making the pace attack. Pakistani spinners took a total of 15 wickets and more importantly snared the entire team in the second innings. Australia, on their part, had packed their side with fast bowlers and got just Nathan Lyon as a frontline spinner. The result: Pakistan won the Test by a record 356 runs.

Against New Zealand, too, a similar trend was seen with spinners dominating with 11 wickets but pace bowler Rahat Ali was the star of the match with six wickets.

Sarfraz, who was part of all these Test matches, would have seen and known the impact spinners have on the outcome of matches at the Sheikh Zayed Cricket Stadium.

Role of spinners can't be highlighted more easily then looking at 2012 match against England.

Apart from a wicket taken by Umar Gul, 19 English batsmen had fallen prey to Abdur Rehman, Saeed Ajmal and Mohammad Hafeez. Pakistan had won by 72 runs.

Pakistan on Monday fell to Herath's magic. When part-timers Asad Shafiq and Haris Sohail were among the wickets, either Mohammad Asghar or Bilal Asif would have been valuable addition to the team.

All isn't lost as a day-night Test beckons Sarfraz to right the wrongs. It is just his first Test as captain. He has the capability and the know-how to lead a side in five-day scenario. Sarfraz needs to take judicious decisions - a tough act, especially, when following the footprints of legends Misbah and Younis.

Source: Khaleej Times