Didn't Get The Pitch I Wanted: Babar Azam On Pakistan's Defeat To England In 1st Test

Pakistan captain Babar Azam has admitted that his side didn’t get the pitch they wanted in the first Test against England, which they lost by 74 runs. Speaking after the match, Azam said that the Rawalpindi pitch was “not ideal” for Pakistan’s bowling attack and that England had made the most of it. “We didn’t get the pitch we wanted,” Azam said.

“It was not ideal for our bowling attack and England made the most of it. “We tried our best but we couldn’t get them out. We have to accept that they were better than us on this occasion.

“Yes my input was there in the preparation of the pitch and we made it clear what we wanted but we didn’t get that because of the weather or whatever reason. But we wanted a track with some turn for the spinners,” Babar told a post-match conference on Monday.

“We were expecting they would continue to play like that against us. I think it becomes difficult for a captain when your bowlers are not hitting the right areas and runs are being scored both sides of the wicket. But full credit to them the way they batted in both innings,” he said.

In the end, the Pakistan captain was surely disappointed to see a match-winning opportunity slip by.

“I thought we were very much in the match till after lunch today to win the match unfortunately we lost back-to-back wickets and that didn’t help. But Anderson and Robinson bowled outstandingly well,” he said.