England confident after first match show, banking on Rashid to continue good work
Yasir Shah celebrates the wicket of Kumar Sangakkara.
Pakistan will be looking to Yasir Shah, the fit-again legspinner, to boost its bowling in the second Test against England, starting in Dubai on Thursday (October 22).
Yasir had missed the drawn first Test in Abu Dhabi with back spasms. However, he is now back to full fitness and was able to bowl without any pain in the nets.
Misbah-ul-Haq, the Pakistan captain, said the legspinner’s return was a big positive for Pakistan. "He is back and that's a good sign for us," said Misbah. "We missed him a lot in the first Test and his return will give us that boost in the spin bowling."
In the first Test, both sides had racked up 500-plus scores in their first innings, before Pakistan was bowled out for 173 in its second dig, with Adil Rashid, England’s debuting legspinner, picking up five wickets.
England had been set 99 to win the Test, but its chase had to be halted at 74 for 4 when bad light forced the umpires to call off the match.
Misbah praised the fighting spirit shown by the visiting team, and said Pakistan would need to match that. "The kind of fight England put, we need to match them. I have confidence in my players that they can do that."
Pakistan could miss Azhar Ali for this match. The batsman had returned home after sitting out of the first Test with injury following the death of his mother-in-law, and his inclusion depends on getting a United Arab Emirates visa in time.
Pakistan has also included offspinner Bilal Asif as cover. Bilal was reported for a suspect bowling action in Zimbabwe on October 6, but he can still play pending a report on his action which will come in two weeks' time.
England will also be quietly confident of its chances after a splendid showing in the first Test, where it responded with 598 for 9 declared in reply to Pakistan’s 523 for 8 declared, with captain Alastair Cook playing a marathon knock of 263 over 836 minutes, the third longest in Test history.
Rashid, who had none for 163 in the first innings, followed it up with 5 for 64 in the second to earn Cook’s praise.
"Over the next 10 days of Test cricket, we need to show the same resilience," said Cook, praising Rashid. "He's obviously had a tough introduction, not getting a wicket on the first day-and-a-half. I thought he bowled okay ... and it was just about hanging in there. We know that legspinners come into the game later on. To get his rewards like he did, and bowl like he did, really sped up the game."
The third and final Test starts in Sharjah on November 1, followed by four One-Day Internationals and three Twenty20 Internationals.
Teams (from):
Pakistan: Misbah-ul-Haq (capt), Ahmed Shehzad, Shan Masood, Azhar Ali, Mohammad Hafeez, Fawad Alam, Asad Shafiq, Younis Khan, Shoaib Malik, Sarfraz Ahmed (wk), Yasir Shah, Zulfiqar Babar, Wahab Riaz, Imran Khan, Rahat Ali, Junaid Khan, Bilal Asif.
England: Alastair Cook (capt), Moeen Ali, James Anderson, Samit Patel, Jonny Bairstow, Ian Bell Stuart Broad, Jos Buttler (wk), Alex Hales, Liam Plunkett, Adil Rashid, Joe Root, Ben Stokes, James Taylor, Mark Wood, Chris Jordan
Yasir had missed the drawn first Test in Abu Dhabi with back spasms. However, he is now back to full fitness and was able to bowl without any pain in the nets.
Misbah-ul-Haq, the Pakistan captain, said the legspinner’s return was a big positive for Pakistan. "He is back and that's a good sign for us," said Misbah. "We missed him a lot in the first Test and his return will give us that boost in the spin bowling."
In the first Test, both sides had racked up 500-plus scores in their first innings, before Pakistan was bowled out for 173 in its second dig, with Adil Rashid, England’s debuting legspinner, picking up five wickets.
England had been set 99 to win the Test, but its chase had to be halted at 74 for 4 when bad light forced the umpires to call off the match.
Misbah praised the fighting spirit shown by the visiting team, and said Pakistan would need to match that. "The kind of fight England put, we need to match them. I have confidence in my players that they can do that."
Pakistan could miss Azhar Ali for this match. The batsman had returned home after sitting out of the first Test with injury following the death of his mother-in-law, and his inclusion depends on getting a United Arab Emirates visa in time.
Pakistan has also included offspinner Bilal Asif as cover. Bilal was reported for a suspect bowling action in Zimbabwe on October 6, but he can still play pending a report on his action which will come in two weeks' time.
England will also be quietly confident of its chances after a splendid showing in the first Test, where it responded with 598 for 9 declared in reply to Pakistan’s 523 for 8 declared, with captain Alastair Cook playing a marathon knock of 263 over 836 minutes, the third longest in Test history.
Rashid, who had none for 163 in the first innings, followed it up with 5 for 64 in the second to earn Cook’s praise.
"Over the next 10 days of Test cricket, we need to show the same resilience," said Cook, praising Rashid. "He's obviously had a tough introduction, not getting a wicket on the first day-and-a-half. I thought he bowled okay ... and it was just about hanging in there. We know that legspinners come into the game later on. To get his rewards like he did, and bowl like he did, really sped up the game."
The third and final Test starts in Sharjah on November 1, followed by four One-Day Internationals and three Twenty20 Internationals.
Teams (from):
Pakistan: Misbah-ul-Haq (capt), Ahmed Shehzad, Shan Masood, Azhar Ali, Mohammad Hafeez, Fawad Alam, Asad Shafiq, Younis Khan, Shoaib Malik, Sarfraz Ahmed (wk), Yasir Shah, Zulfiqar Babar, Wahab Riaz, Imran Khan, Rahat Ali, Junaid Khan, Bilal Asif.
England: Alastair Cook (capt), Moeen Ali, James Anderson, Samit Patel, Jonny Bairstow, Ian Bell Stuart Broad, Jos Buttler (wk), Alex Hales, Liam Plunkett, Adil Rashid, Joe Root, Ben Stokes, James Taylor, Mark Wood, Chris Jordan
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