ENG vs PAK | Pakistan better than England, can still win series, believes Inzamam-ul-Haq
Inzamam-ul-Haq expressed his disappointment over Pakistan’s loss in the first Test in Manchester but is still confident of the visitors bouncing back in the series. Inzamam believes that Pakistan are a better team than England and insisted that it was important for them to stay positive.
As has been the case with Pakistan for the entirety of the 21st century, the ‘unpredictable’ tourists snatched defeat from the jaws of victory in the first Test against England at Old Trafford. With England 117/5 in the second innings chasing 277, Pakistan looked like they were going to run away with the first Test but an unlikely 139-run stand between two out-of-form batsmen, Chris Woakes and Jos Buttler, propelled the hosts to a rather unexpected three-wicket win.
The defeat has left a lot of Pakistan fans disappointed, and one among them is former skipper Inzamam-ul-Haq. Inzamam, however, while expressing his disappointment, also saw the silver lining and opined that the visitors were still capable of winning the series due to them, overall, being a better side than England.
"I think the Pakistan team is better than England and we should have won the first Test. It’s very disappointing but I believe Pakistan can still win the series,” Inzamam said on his Youtube channel, reported Times Now.
"When you are going through a tough phase, the team’s body language should not change. This was clearly the case in the first Test because Pakistan players seemed under pressure after the second innings batting collapse on the third day."
The second Test between the two sides will be played at the Ageas Bowl, starting August 13, and Inzamam has claimed that it’s important for Azhar Ali’s men to look at the positives. The 50-year-old said that it’s the team management’s role to keep the players motivated after such a heartbreaking defeat and added that positives such as Pakistan scoring over 300 in the first innings and taking a first-innings lead should be focused on, rather than the negatives.
"The role of the team management is vital after such a defeat because the players’ morale will be down. They need to talk about the positives, like scoring 300 plus runs and the first innings lead, rather than focusing on the negatives."
England will be without their talisman Ben Stokes for the last two Tests as the ECB, on Sunday, confirmed that the all-rounder would be flying to New Zealand later this week for personal reasons.