New Delhi:
Pakistan were woeful on the opening day of the Pink Ball Test against Australia in Adelaide. David Warner and Marnus Labuschagne slammed centuries and Pakistan were not helped by sloppy fielding and poor bowling. Azhar Ali, the skipper, had a torrid day and it continued Pakistan's problems Down Under where they have not won a single match either in the Twenty20 Internationals or in the Test in Brisbane. The attitude of the Pakistan players was blasted by Wasim Akram, the former pacer who has taken over 400 wickets in his Test playing career.
Speaking after the end of the day's play, Akram was criticial of the Pakistan players for their poor showing. He singled out Shaheen Afridi's fielding effort and also criticised Yasir Shah and Shan Masood. "Shaheen Shah was in lala land at fine leg. Yasir Shah and Shan Masood were probably yawning. That's the problem with Pakistan cricket. They should be on the ball. Nobody was backing up and you as a fielder, it doesn't matter how inexperienced you are, you set yourself, new batsman in, they just came out, I'll probably start five-ten yards inside the boundary line not on the boundary," Akram said to foxsports.com.au.
Shaheen ran the wrong way and could not spot the ball as it went to the boundary and he had an even more embarrasing moment the second time when he chased the ball and bent down to collect it but his foot kicked the ball past the boundary. Not only was Akram critical of Yasir Shah's attitude, but he also expressed concern over his 'inexperienced' celebration when he dismissed Steve Smith cheaply in Brisbane.
When Yasir dismissed Smith, it was the seventh time that he had dismissed Australia's best batsman and he made it clear when he raised both his hands and signalled seven when he sent back Smith. "I, as a bowler, (worried about) 'am I impacting the game or not? Am I winning the game for Pakistan or vice versa?' If not, that doesn’t matter if I've got him seven times. It was just an inexperienced mistake. I hope he hasn’t poked the bear there," Akram said.
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Pakistan lost the three Twenty20 Internationals 2-0 with one game being declared a no result but they lost their 13th consecutive Test in Australia when they lost by an innings and five runs in the first match at the Gabba.
