Shan Masood has proved himself with a big hundred, affirms Misbah-ul-Haq

In 2016, when Pakistan toured England in a four-match Test series, opener Shan Masood was in the worst form of his life, ending the series with a disappointing tally of 71 runs at an average of 17.75 before getting the sack. However, ahead of the 2020 series, he walked in with confidence knowing that he could turn the fortune around in his favour against the same pace attack. 

In the ongoing Test, his approach looked different as he batted patiently, scoring a well-deserved 156, batting over eight hours. Appreciating his knock, Pakistan’s coach-cum-selector Misbah-ul-Haq has credited the southpaw for proving himself with a big hundred in the first Test. During his knock, Masood also became one of the six Pakistani batsmen to score a hundred in three consecutive innings. 

"Now he has proved himself here in England, so I'm really pleased, especially as it's not (just) a hundred, (but) a big hundred. It was a good application and his hard work has paid off,” said Misbah, reported TOI. 

The former Pakistani skipper was also in awe of the way the opener played out the English pace bowling threat early on in the innings when the ball was moving around. Towards the latter half of the innings, the southpaw put his foot on the pedal as Pakistan needed quick runs to help them finish above the 300-run mark. In the opener’s absence, Misbah admitted that Pakistan would have been in a plethora of trouble, with a middle-order collapse. 

"It was an excellent performance by him, especially against a seam attack of (Stuart) Broad, (James) Anderson, (Chris) Woakes and (Jofra) Archer, and against an off-spinner (Bess) that was bowling well on a pitch where there was turn," he added. 

"Still, we would have been in trouble if he only scored a hundred. But hundred-and-fifty plus, and through the innings, that was really special," he concluded.