Pakistan team’s head coach Saqlain Mushtaq is optimistic to turn the table in favour of Pakistan, when the Babar XI locks horns against Australia at the Gaddafi Stadium, Lahore. The historic three-match series is level at 0-0 after both Test matches in Rawalpindi and Karachi were drawn. Saqlain said the epic Karachi Test draw had in-creased the confidence of Pakistan to surprise Aus-tralia.
“Before this series, our mission was to beat Australia and win the series,” Saqlain told reporters in a virtual conference on Saturday.
“It’s not that we are just saying it, we will try our best and produce a result in our favour in Lahore.” Australia were a clear favourite to go 1-0 up in the series after it set Pakistan a mammoth 506 runs target with just under two days of play remaining at the National Stadium, Karachi.
However, Pakistan captain Babar Azam played his career-best innings, scoring 196 off 425 balls spending over 10 hours on the crease, along with Abdullah Shafique (96) and Mohammad Rizwan (104 not out) to deny Australia victory.
They finished at 443-7, as both captains shook hands to end the game with just more than an over of play remaining in the day.—INP
