"We're hurt by the results, we're hurt as a nation," said a dejected Shan Masood in the post-match presentation after Pakistan's loss to England in the first Test of the three-match series in Multan on Friday, October 11.
Masood, who is on a six-match losing streak and is still searching for his maiden Test win as captain couldn't hide his disappointment after the painful loss on day five in Multan. Despite his century in the first innings, Pakistan lost the Test match and that too by an innings and 47 runs and thereby becoming the first team to lose a Test match by an innings despite scoring 500 runs.
"We've spoken about the third innings, but it's a team game, when you put 550 on the board it's important to back it up with 10 wickets, and that's what we didn't do," said Masood.
"That's the key, how can the batting and bowling in first innings contribute to a lead. The onus is to set the game up well and finish it off. We should learn from England, they found ways to take 20 wickets. That's the challenge the side has going forward. We're in the middle of the series, we've talked about a squad mentality. Test cricket is the ultimate format, the best teams find a way. Scoring runs and taking wickets are the non-negotiables," he added.
Masood also admitted that his team hasn't been able to perform as per expectations and has let the supporters down.
"We're not getting the results that Pakistan cricket deserves. We have to get this right as a squad," Masood concluded.
Pakistan have slipped to the bottom of the WTC points table and also been knocked out of the race to the finals. They will play at the same venue in the second Test, starting October 15.
