PAK vs AUS: Khurram Shahzad Doubtful For Boxing Day Test As Injury Woes Grapple Pakistan

Pakistan pacer Khurram Shehzad has suffered an injury scare ahead of the second Test against Australia in Melbourne on December 26. The Pakistan pace who took a fifer on his Test debut complained of discomfort on his left side during the first Test.

Pakistan lost the first Test by 360 runs after being bowled out for 271 and 89 in Perth. Pakistan who have been winless now on Australian soil for a long time now suffered a big loss that hurt them on the WTC points table. They have dropped down to the second position on the points table having a PCT point of 61.11.

Khurram picked up a total of five wickets in the match picking up two in the first innings and three in the second. The overall performance of the Pakitan pace bowling group was below par in the first Test. Perth which is considered to be one of the fastest tracks in the world, the Pakistan pacers failed to get any assistance out of the wicket.

Shaheen Afridi especially looked completely out of sorts as he went for 172 runs in the match and picked up just two wickets. Shahzad also went for over 120 runs in the match. Aamer Jamal who picked up six wickets in the first innings went for 111 runs in the first innings went for just 28 in the second innings.

Pakistan Looking For A Better Bowling Attack In MCG Test

Pakistan benched experienced pacers Hasan Ali and Mohammad Wasim Jr in the first Test and included Shahzad the debutant. His unfortunate injury will mean that he might not be fit in time to play the second Test.

Pakistan have a good attack but their bowlers have not extracted the best out of the conditions. The first Test was a perfect example of how these bowlers are not habituated with bowling outside the subcontinent. Afridi had a real struggle as did the struggled to bowl with pace.

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Former Pakistan skipper Azhar Ali criticised the Pakistan pacer of not being able to bowl out the opposition cheaply, He further said that the batters have scored heavily time and again but their bowlers have failed to step up when it mattered the most.

“How many times have the bowlers bowled out Australia for low scores whereas the batsmen have from time to time put up good totals? Unless you bowl out Australia for under 250-300, you can’t expect to win matches Down Under,” Azhar Ali said.

He further said that it has been a long time since a Pakistan attack were able to pick up 20 wickets in Australia to win a Test match.

“Many times our bowlers get carried away with the bounce and pace but the fact is you have to hit a consistent length to get wickets in Australia,” Azhar Ali added.

Pakistan’s losing streak in Test matches in Australia have now extended to 15 consecutive matches. Having lost the first Test by a massive margin, Pakistan will need to play out of their skins to make a comeback in the series.

The PAK vs AUS second Test in Melbourne will be played from December 26-39 followed by the third Test in Sydney from January 3-7, 2024.

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