Former Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chairman Ramiz Raja launched a scathing tirade after Pakistan, for the first time in 34 years, lost a Test against the West Indies on home turf. After ending Bazball’s dominance with a 2-1 series win against England last year, Men in Green thought they had cracked the formula for victory at home – producing a turning strip. The trend of competing on spin paradise continued during the two-match Test series against the West Indies.
In the opening Test, the Caribbean side withered on Multan’s surface, where the ball spun right from the opening hour. But after losing the series opener, the West Indies upped the ante in the second Test, especially on the batting front and bounced back with a 120-run victory, their first in 34 years in Pakistan.
According to Ramiz, the frustrating thing about the Pakistan team is dropping the tempo against weak opposition, a mistake that the former cricketer doesn’t expect from the Asian side.
“It is hard to justify this defeat. When you prepare such a brutal spin track, it becomes a lottery. So winning the toss becomes an important thing, and every inning becomes important. The frustrating thing about Pakistan Cricket is against the top teams, we play in top gear, but against weak teams, we drop our standard. Novice mistakes. You don’t expect such mistakes from Pakistan cricket, especially from batters,” Ramiz said on his YouTube channel.
In the opening Test, the beleaguered West Indies side tried to resist Pakistan’s spin prowess but eventually succumbed to a 127-run defeat. Even after suffering a bitter loss, the expression ona the faces of the West Indies players suggested that they had figured out their next plan of action.
But in the second game, signs pointing towards Pakistan’s defeat were all over the place when the visiting party won the toss and decided to bat. A fiery stand from the tail-end lifted the West Indies from 38/7 to 163.
With a slender 9-run lead, the West Indies captain, Kraigg Brathwaite, blazed his way to a valuable 52(73) to propel his side to a competitive total of 244.
Sajid Khan, who has been at the forefront of Pakistan’s recent home success, wavered in his line and lengths and leaked runs throughout his spell. Even the batters couldn’t use their feet to negate the spin threat.
Ramiz was quick to note the flaws in Pakistan’s underwhelming performance in Multan and added, “Things can’t be taken for granted. Spinners gave away runs, and the batting lineup was disappointing. You have to think whether the batters can survive or not. Nobody was expecting that the West Indies would end the second Test on Day 3 and leave with a series draw.”
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