Former PCB president Ramiz Raja has lashed out at the Pakistan cricket team for their crushing defeat against Australia in the first Test. He noted that the Shan Masood-led team lacked intent and technique and admitted it was a disappointing performance from them.
The first game in the series between Australia and Pakistan took place at Perth’s Optus Stadium and saw the absolute dominance of Pat Cummins’ army. They blew away the visitors in their home conditions and won the game by a huge margin of 360 runs to take a 1-0 lead in the series.
It was a customary victory for Australia as they opted to bat first, batted long, took wickets, set a target and left their opponents speechless. The Pat Cummins-led team followed a similar pattern as they recorded a mammoth total of 487 runs for the first time. Thanks to David Warner, who scored a dizzying century and set the tone for his team.
Mitchell Marsh (90), Travis Head (40), Steve Smith (31) and Alex Carey (34) also made useful contributions that put the team in an excellent position. Pakistan’s bowlers struggle most of the time but Aamer Jamal was the pick of the bowlers as he bagged 6 wickets on his debut.
Pakistan in their first innings showed great caution and looked like they were ready to fight. The start given by Abdullah Shafique (42) and Imam-ul-Haq (62) gave a sense of relief to the fans and after that, Shan Masood (30) also played a role. However, after that things did not go as expected as they lost wickets in quick succession.
Pakistan were bowled out for just 271 runs in their first innings. Australia took a lead of 215 runs and then decided to extend it. They added 233 more runs and set a mammoth total for Pakistan to chase. Usman Khawaja (90) was the top scorer while Steve Smith (45) made a vital contribution.
In the chase, Pakistan were completely dominated by the Australian pacers. Micthell Starc and Josh Hazlewood did the killing with the new ball and picked 6 wickets between them. Pat Cummins and Nathan Lyon took 3 wickets between them as Australia bowled out their opponents for just 89 runs.
PAK vs AUS: “Intention and technique…”, Ramiz Raja criticizes that Pakistan is getting over the defeat against Australia
Following Pakistan’s loss against Australia, Ramiz Raja said it was disappointing that the team did everything they could in just 31 overs. He also praised Australia for their exceptional performance and said they were on another level. Taking X account of him, he explained:
“Both intention and technique were missing from Pak’s ‘resistance menu’. Being blown away in just 31 overs in the second knock was disappointing. The Australians were on another level.”
Both intent and technique were missing from Pak’s “endurance menu.”
Being blown away in just 31 overs in the second knock was disappointing. The Australians were on another level…– Ramiz Raja (@iramizraja) December 17, 2023
Pakistan faced their 15th consecutive defeat against Australia in Australia. They would hope to turn things around in the next match on December 26 at Melbourne Cricket Ground. Pakistan have struggled mightily to get going in the Tests against Australia. New captain Shan Masood would be eager to return and change the fortunes of his team in the upcoming matches against the Australians.
