Blame Game In Pakistan Camp After Defeat In 2nd Test Against Australia, Captain Shan Masood Says THIS

After the challenging defeat by 79 runs against Australia in the second Test, Pakistan's captain, Shan Masood, is emphasizing the silver linings from the MCG match and encouraging everyone to focus on the broader perspective. Despite the setback, Pakistan's top-order batsmen, Masood, Babar Azam, and Agha Salman, exhibited resilience and determination on Day 4 in Melbourne. However, the relentless efforts of Australia's pace duo, Pat Cummins and Mitchell Starc, ultimately secured the Test series win for the hosts with one match remaining at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on Friday.

Even in the face of defeat, Masood remains optimistic, highlighting the positives that emerged during the game. He urges observers to consider the larger context and acknowledges that there are numerous takeaways from the match. Despite falling short, Pakistan fought gallantly until the end, but Australia's solid performance sealed their victory in the second Test and the overall series.

"We have to look at the bigger picture. There were a lot of positives. We can easily be like, 'what if we did this, what if we did that?' That's all and part and process of the game. There were a lot of positives but if you give a quality side like Australia a sniff, which we did, maybe sometimes with the bowl, maybe sometimes with the bat, yesterday maybe in the field we dropped someone in form like Marsh, we might not have been chasing so many today. Mistakes happen. In terms of the bigger picture, this is the way we want to play Test cricket. Playing Test cricket in these conditions, fighting till the end, where a result was possible for us, that's something we have to take forward as a team," Masood said in a post-match presentation.

Masood complimented his team for battling till the finish after reflecting on how the game unfolded over the course of four days. Cummins completes a 10-wicket match haul in Australia's 79-run win to take an unassailable 2-0 series lead.

"It's a reflection of four days, the game kept turning. Sometimes it'd go Australia's way, sometimes ours. We were fortunate to win the toss and have the best of the bowling conditions. We were leading with the bat when me and Abdullah had a good partnership, Pat Cummins came in with that spell and that's why he's one of the best bowlers in the world. In the second innings, Steve Smith and Mitchell Marsh's partnership, that put us back again. We have taken 20 wickets which we haven't done in Australia for a while, that's a box ticked," he added.

"A lot to work on, but this is the blueprint with which we want to play Test cricket. Hopefully we keep doing that. They are ruthless, you want to convert the fifties into hundreds. That's what we have to do as a batting unit. They have some world-class bowlers in their ranks, if you give them a sniff you might not have enough runs on the board," he added.

He criticised the batters' failure to turn excellent starts and fifties into hundreds, saying that it was the model he wanted the squad to follow.

"It's WTC, every Test match counts. Very happy with how we played the game, it's just about the finishing touches and winning the crucial moments like the Australians did in this game. The groundsmen did a wonderful job, one of the better Test pitches that we have played on, something for everyone. Very glad that we got to play such an exciting Test match," the Pakistan captains said.

At the MCG as Pat Cummins lead Australia to victory by 79 runs in the Boxing Day Test. The hosts took an unassailable 2-0 lead in the series against Pakistan. Cummins finished with a 10-wicket match haul in Australia's 79-run win while Starc returned with 4/55 and both pacers bowled a hostile spell of fast bowling to take the host to a second consecutive triumph.

The third and last match of the series will be played from January 3 at the Sydney Cricket Ground.