Sharjah [UAE]): Disappointed after failing to complete a Test series whitewash against West Indies, Pakistan skipper Misbah-ul-Haq has admitted that his side made `a lot of mistakes`, including displaying poor batting during their five-wicket defeat in the third and final match in Sharjah.
Chasing a target of 153 runs to win, Kraigg Brathwaite (60) and Shane Dowrich (60) stitched an unbeaten 87-run partnership to deny Pakistan historic 9-0 rout of West Indies. The visitors were earlier whitewashed 3-0 by Pakistan in the previous T20I and ODI series respectively.
The 42-year-old admitted that his side performed below their standards and lost their momentum during the final match.
“It is always disappointing to lose a Test. Yes, the series is important but it’s not good to lose. You don’t want to lose momentum. We made a lot of mistakes. Credit to West Indies. They kept improving and we kept losing momentum. We were well below our standards, especially in the batting department. There was no discipline, there was bad shot selection,” Misbah said in the post-match presentation.
The Pakistan Test skipper also praised the Caribbean side’s disciplined batting performance before issuing an apology to the fans and spectators for a poor show.
“Their batting discipline was really good. Sorry to all the fans, who believed in us and came out to support us,” he said.
Meanwhile, Brathwaite, who was declared `Man of the Match` for his unbeaten knock of 60 and 142, described the match as the best of his Test career, while insisting that he had just worked around his strengths and backed his abilities.
“It was a tough Test for us as well, Pakistan also played well. We had to work really hard, very happy to come out on top. I know my weak and strong areas. I just worked around my strengths and backed my ability. On a low pitch, I thought front foot will give you more runs than on the back foot. This has been the best batting Test match so far of my career. I hope to repeat this feat many times in my career. I’ve had a good start. The key is to maintain it. I don’t want to get comfortable. I just want to continue working hard and score a lot of runs,” Brathwaite said after West Indies’ first away win against a side ranked above them since 2007 and first Test win for Jason Holder as captain.
Yasir was adjudged `Man of the Series` for picking a total of 21 wickets.
Earlier, Holder bagged a five-wicket haul as the Caribbean side bundled out Pakistan for 208 in their second innings. Pakistan posted 281 runs in their first innings.
Despite the defeat, Pakistan clinched the Test series 2-1 against West Indies. Misbah-ul-Haq’s side won the first two matches by 56 and 133 runs, respectively. (ANI)