PAK vs AUS: 'Could've Batted Quicker' - Shan Masood Criticizes Pakistan's Timid Batting Approach

Australia registered a thumping win against Pakistan in the first Test at the Optus stadium in Perth. They beat Pakistan by a huge 360-run margin. Shan Masood, the Pakistan skipper was devastated after the defeat in his very first Test as Pakistan captain. The Pakistani players didn’t have it their way in the first test and there were a lot of areas where they needed improvements.

Shan Masood and his men were struggling in all three departments as Australia convincingly won the match leading the series 1-0. Pakistan were all out for just 89 in the last innings, chasing a massive target of 450. They came to Australia with a perfect record in the ICC World Test Championship Final 2025 table with two away wins against Sri Lanka. However, after the defeat in the first Test, they have lost points in the table.

Shan Masood acknowledged that the team could have scored quicker and added 60-70 runs in the first innings which could have kept the lead at a sizeable level. He said that he would’ve taken that if someone had said that Pakistan would play 100 overs and Australia would play 110 overs in the match. Pakistan was all-out during the 31st over of the last innings which was a horrendous display with the bat.

Shan Masood said, “Look when you come to these shores, you look for progress. If you had told us that Australia would play 110 overs and we’d play 100, I’d have taken that. We could have scored quicker and 60-70 runs would have proved the difference in maybe keeping that lead to a sizeable level.”

Shan Masood Failed With The Bat In The First Test As Australia Beat Pakistan

Shan Masood didn’t have a good outing with the bat during the first Test against Australia. He was gone for 30 in the first innings and could only manage to get a ‘two’ in the second innings. He scored a double century in the warm-up match against Prime Minister’s XI. No one from Pakistan’s batting order could make a decent score with just Imam-ul-Haq scoring a 62 in the first innings.

Shan Masood-led Pakistan will now travel to Melbourne where the second Test of the series is scheduled starting on December 26. Australia currently lead the three-match Test series by 1-0 and will be looking to get a clean-sweep victory, improving their position in the WTC points table. The final Test of the series will be played in Sydney after the New Year celebrations.

Pakistan had a terrible outing in Perth losing to Australia by 360 runs and they would hope for a comeback. The Men In Green had something positive to take home in Aamer Jamal’s performance who took a six fer in the first innings of the Test.

Australia’s Mitchell Marsh was awarded the Player of The Match for his half-centuries in both the innings scoring 90 and 63* respectively in the match. David Warner scored 164 in the first innings which became the talking point of the match.