Positive intent - that's what we want to see

[Saj]

Excellent performance by Pakistan in this Test match and it shows just what they can achieve with an attacking intent and positivity with bat and ball rather than a defensive mindset.

Too often they go into Test matches with rigid tactics and a safety first policy.

This match showed that they are a much better side with a positive intent rather than going into their shell from ball one.

I just hope this isn't a one-off and this positivity is something we see on a regular basis going forward.

 

[Savak]

TBH, they were boosted by the do or die nature of their situation which forced their hand

 

[Firebat]

Aggressive batting, aggressive declarations, aggressive fields set and fantastic attacking bowling.

Hope to see more of this captaincy from Babar, absolutely brilliant this match!

 

[Line and Length]

I also think the WTC format is forcing the hand of teams to play more attacking cricket. Good to see.

 

[Titan24]

Race against time due to rain extracted the best out of Pak as they were forced to become aggressive to win the match and level the series. This kind of mindset should be the blue print to follow to give entertaining as well as optimal level of performance.

 

[TheSultan]

The problem is this was the “last throw of the dice” for this team management, captaincy combo.

It was almost like “well nothing else has worked, might aswell try this otherwise we’re out of a job.

This is the story of misbah’s career and many of his innings.

 

[gazza619]

Absolutely the positive intent is what was missing previously.

Our batsmen need to adapt to this modern way of playing. You could see that even the dull to watch Abid & Imran were making it interesting in the 2nd innings. Obviously they had no pressure but still they should play a bit more freely even in the first innings of a test.

 

[Shoaibbtt]

Aggressive batting, aggressive declarations, aggressive fields set and fantastic attacking bowling.

Hope to see more of this captaincy from Babar, absolutely brilliant this match!

Not to forget the cunning strategy to play 2 spinners which will get through the overs quickly and in order to snatch that new ball. Don't know if you heard Rizwan saying that here's the plan.

 

[Shoaibbtt]

Positives

- Middle order is strong in Babar, Fawad, Rizwan and Faheem.
- Shaheen was electric with the ball, Numan along with Faheem were handy.
- Slips fielding by Imran was top notch 16 catches is brilliant.

Negatives

- Abbas was just sub par
- Opening continues to be a problem but they play well when they attacked which is what they should've been doing from the beginning, however sooner or later smarter/more experienced bowlers will suss you out.


However, very happy that me as fan got to see Fawad at his best.

 

[Lahorijat]

Great to see the positive intent after a long time. Played like a top team.

 

[sweep_shot]

Pakistan surprised me with their positive approach in 2nd innings. I haven't seen this type of stuff from Pakistan in a while.

Good job.

 

[MenInG]

Aggressive batting, aggressive declarations, aggressive fields set and fantastic attacking bowling.

Hope to see more of this captaincy from Babar, absolutely brilliant this match!

Sums it up nicely.

If Babar can do this in every game, we will have a pretty exciting WTC ahead of us

 

[Amjid Javed]

The Aggressiveness only seem to come when we were 1-0 down in the series in do or die situation. This attitude should have been shown in 1st test aswell.

Pakistan need to play fearless cricket like India do. Yes they are a miles better side. however a positive mindset will win you more games then it will lose so lets see if this was flash in pan from babar or the way forward.

 

[Manzy2599]

Finally this test showed glimpses of the aggression that has been missing for so long in this Pakistan side. If babar and Pakistan can continue this way with minimal influence from misbahs safety first approach Pakistan can do well in this WTC considering they have many more home series this time around. Who knows maybe we could see a historic Pakistan vs India match in the WTC final. These two sides haven’t played a test in almost 15 years so it will be a great match for everyone around the world.

 

[Forward Defensive Push]

The WTC angle to test matches in general is working out well. Teams want to win at all costs and it only boosts our great game!

 

[Last Monetarist]

Babar Azam in the post-match conference:

"When we batted second, we knew we had 150 or so runs in the bag and if could double that lead, it would be good for us which is what happened; We also planned to make West Indies bat for about 20-25 overs towards the end of the day, so we batted according to that plan and we told each batsman to play with a positive mindset; All our batsmen, including the openers played with a positive mindset and achieved the total we wanted"

 

[Saj]

Every match, every series, we keep hearing the same stuff "we will attack, we will play positive cricket". But they don't.

This time they had to go for it given the circumstances and we all saw how positive intent can change the whole mindset throughout the team.

 

[TheSultan]

Unfortunately the next match they’ll be back to their usual defensive selves.

The Pak players seem to be able to do the impossible when their jobs are at stake

 

[MenInG]

Think Pujara's innings in the 3rd Test so far is also a good example of this intent against tough odds.

 

[dravidthewall]

Think Pujara's innings in the 3rd Test so far is also a good example of this intent against tough odds.

This was not positive intent...it's career saving innings just like Asad shafiq

 

[OMB]

Good to see positive intent. 50% performance and 50% positive mindset that made a difference