Aim is to Get Wickets of the Opposition's Main Batsmen - Mohammad Abbas

Promising paceman Mohammad Abbas revealed he tries to get the wickets of the best batters of the opposition. After taking eight wickets in the opening Test match at an iconic Lord’s, Abbas was awarded as the Man of the Match.

Abbas is just seven Test matches old, but he has impressed with his line and length. The right-handed fast bowler Abbas has had a fantastic start to his red-ball career. He scalped 40 wickets in these matches at an impressive average of 16.62.

In the second innings of the first Test match, Abbas went on to take the wickets of imperative England players like Alastair Cook, Joe Root, and Jos Buttler.

“I aim to get wickets of the opposition’s main batsmen, especially their captain’s. [Joe] Root faced me for only one ball in the first innings before getting out. Had he batted for a longer period, I would’ve tried to get his wicket in the first innings as well. In the second innings, I had taken two wickets [before picking up Root] and both of them were crucial wickets,” Abbas told Cricbuzz.

Abbas had figures of four for 23 in the first innings. Furthermore, he was able to back this performance with four for 41 in the second innings.

Well, it was a fine performance from the 28-year old rookie fast bowler. Most importantly, the Pakistan speedster is hitting the right length.

Abbas went on to add that it gives him extra pleasure when his team wins the match because of his good performance.

“Had my team not won the match, it would have grieved me [to not make it to the honours board]. But, my performances helped my side in winning the match which is delightful,” Abbas added.

Abbas turned out to be Pakistan’s pack leader after the first Test triumph. He added that he will aim to continue delivering the goods for his team. Moreover, Abbas career has taken a shot after a fine start.

“I am extremely happy [on being the leader] and I will try my best to continue to put up such performances. I thank the Almighty that I performed well in the West Indies and was a top bowler from both sides. Then against Sri Lanka as well, I was the best among the fast-bowlers. During the matches against Ireland and England, I took 17 wickets. And, I have bagged 40 wickets in the first seven matches, which is unprecedented for a Pakistani bowler,” Abbas added.

Abbas has the ability to get the ball to swing both ways. Furthermore, he can extract good pace from the surface which makes him lethal.

The paceman Abbas is hitting the corridor of uncertainty more often than not. Consequently, he is compared with former Pakistan sensation Mohammad Asif.

The Pakistan speedster Mohammad Abbas added that it would not be fair to liken him with Asif so early in his career.

“It is not like that. Asif Bhai has performed a lot for Pakistan and it is only because of that that I am compared with him. The performances are mine after all. He is my senior and we have played together for Sialkot. Whenever I play with a senior I try to learn from them. I discussed line and length bowling from Asif and I have implemented those learnings in my career,” Abbas concluded.

It is amazing to note that Pakistan keeps producing these fine fast bowlers.

Meanwhile, the visitors have a fine opportunity to win the Test series in England after a prolonged gap of 22 years.