In Galle, missing their skipper Misbah, due to slow-over rate from the ODI, a disjointed Pakistan unit was bamboozled by the Sri Lankan attack. To review the first test, PakPassion.Net caught up with former offspinner, Tauseef Ahmed to seek his views on where it all went horribly wrong.

by Haroon Khan (June 26th 2012)

After a string of some spectacular successes in the Test arena, the Pakistani team was brought back down to earth with a shattering 209 run loss to Sri Lanka in Galle, Pakistan’s biggest ever run loss against the opponent. It was the first Test match they had lost since succumbing to the West Indies in Providence back in May 2011. Since then, under Misbah’s leadership, Pakistan were undefeated in 10 tests, which included series wins against Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and more recently a whitewash series win against England.

In Galle, missing their skipper Misbah, due to slow-over rate from the ODI, a disjointed Pakistan unit was bamboozled by the Sri Lankan attack. To review the first test, PakPassion.Net caught up with former offspinner, Tauseef Ahmed to seek his views on where it all went horribly wrong.

Tauseef Ahmed who represented Pakistan on 104 occasions expressed his displeasure at the way in which the Pakistani batsmen succumbed to a relatively inexperienced bowling attack from Sri Lanka. 32 year old debutant Mohammad Ayub was picked as the replacement for Misbah Ul Haq and ended with scores of 25 and 22. “Ayub came out to bat when the team was under pressure and I thought he showed very good temperament during both of his innings,” Tauseef said. He further added that, “Ayub has the temperament to succeed at this level.” Ayub has been a part of first class cricket for over a decade, and Tauseef felt that given a fair opportunity in the squad, he could also complement the competition for middle order spots. “Ayub has been performing well in domestic circuit for a while and due to the tough competition in the middle order, unfortunately he hadn't been given a chance to represent Pakistan earlier.”

The majority of the damage to the Pakistani batting was through the spin duo attack of Herath and Randiv who combined for match figures of 14-220. Whereas in past series, Pakistan was able to score freely when the spinners came on, the combination of left-arm orthodox and right arm off-spin proved successful for Sri Lanka. “It makes a big difference when their spinners come on and get quick wickets.”, said Tauseef.

Pakistan again relied heavily on Saeed Ajmal, who bowled with a lot of heart but received little support from others. “For Pakistan it is important that they have a pace attack that can trouble the batsmen,” Tauseef said. However, Tauseef’s main criticism was reserved for the young left arm pacer, Junaid Khan. “Junaid to me didn't appear in any sort of form. I think he may have made some changes to his bowling but clearly something was not right.” Junaid Khan was picked ahead of Aizaz Cheema who played in the last test win against England, and Tauseef felt it was the wrong decision, “at a time like this I think Cheema would have been a better option.”

Past Pakistani squads have been notorious for their fiery pace attack, yet Tauseef was unimpressed by the quality of pace bowling on show for Pakistan at Galle. “I think our bowlers were bowling in the 130 range while the Sri Lankans had some bowlers cross the 140+ mark,” Tauseef said. “Plus on top of that, they [Sri Lanka] bowled on the stumps which makes life difficult for any batsman.”

Tauseef added, “Whichever bowler plays for Pakistan, it is important that they keep their line on the stumps.” Mohammad Sami who was recalled to the squad after a hiatus in domestic cricket was the other option available for Pakistan. His exclusion from the Test squad surprised a few especially as he had shown signs of improvement in the initial part of the tour “Sami certainly has the pace, but he can be erratic too,” Tauseef remarked. “All in all, on these conditions I think Cheema would have been better option.”

The second Test match begins on June 30th at the Sinhalese Sport Ground in Colombo. Misbah will return most likely in place of Mohammad Ayub, but it will be fascinating to see what alterations are made to the bowling attack if Pakistan are to retain any hopes of winning this series.