Pakistan dodged a bullet at the Sheikh Zayed Stadium, but the worry lines are clearly visible on captain Misbah-ul Haq’s forehead as they move on to Dubai for the second Test.
First, the good news for Pakistan. Batsman Azhar Ali and leg-spinner Yasir Shah are both fit and available for selection.
That should give them a lot of confidence, Azhar has been their most consistent batsman these last few years, while Shah’s bowling was sorely missed in Abu Dhabi.
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The question is, who should they drop? In all possibility, it will be opening bowler Rahat Ali, and Shan Masood, who failed as an opening batsman in both innings. But if Masood is dropped, who takes over the responsibility of opening the batting needs to decided.
Shoaib Malik may have scored a duck in the second innings, but he hit a brilliant knock of 245 in the first, batting at No3.
Selection issues will not be Misbah’s biggest concern – the state of the pitch in Dubai will be. The captain was critical of the track that was laid out in Abu Dhabi. He said he expected it to take turn, but there was hardly anything for the spinners for the first four days.
But based on Pakistan’s batting against the two England spinners on Saturday, a turning track could well turn out to be a double-edged sword. If Pakistan had lost the Abu Dhabi Test, it would have been to England spinners, who took seven wickets in an extraordinary post-tea session.
That would have been a real disaster because it would have created a doubt in the team management’s mind as to what kind of pitch should be prepared to counter England in Dubai. Not only did the spinners take wickets, their batsmen also played the Pakistani spinners very well.
However, spin – both bowling and facing it – is Pakistan’s strength and they should exploit that. Hopefully, the Dubai track will start taking turn from day four and not day five.
So, where did things go wrong for Pakistan in Abu Dhabi? They made the perfect start – exactly as per the blueprint they have perfected in the UAE. Try and win the toss, bat first, score tons of runs, and then let the spinners do the job as the pitch starts to crumble towards the fourth innings.
To begin with, Misbah and his men did not factor in the fortitude and terrific patience of Alastair Cook. The England captain was the biggest factor in Pakistan coming so close to losing their unbeaten run in Abu Dhabi.
Among the lessons to be learnt from Cook is also the way he sets the field. Unlike Misbah, who stuck to more orthodox field settings, Cook experimented with various options. Obviously, it was backed up with solid research on Pakistan batsmen, and the dismissal in the first innings of Younis Khan – who they expected to be caught at the very strange looking short mid-on standing right next to the non-striker – was a great example.
But one thing Pakistan must do is to put a value on their wicket. Pitches here are perfect for batting, but as Malik and Cook proved, you’ve got to show plenty of application and determination to stay on the crease. That was completely missing in the second innings.
Batting well and with determination, more than anything else, will determine the outcome of what is shaping up to be a fascinating Test series.