Zeeraq
First Class Captain
- Joined
- Sep 28, 2011
- Runs
- 5,437
"Some were saying that Karachiwallas are supporting me, others were saying Lahorewallas": Sarfaraz
Pakistan captain Sarfaraz Ahmed spoke to the media at the end of Day 1 of the 2nd Test:
"Obviously when we were 57/5, there was a lot of pressure on me as captain"
"We lost 4 wickets in 7-8 balls so I couldn't understand what was happening but then we tried to make sure we could see off that session, as 15 minutes before Lunch were a very difficult time for us"
"After Lunch, I planned with Fakhar to rotate the strike more as that was a better choice because if we had just hung around and kept on playing dot balls, then we could have been out at any moment as the pitch behavior had changed and the ball was gripping a lot"
"The ball was breaking a bit but thankfully we had a good partnership and we got to a reasonable score"
"and because of that the match situation has evened out for both teams"
"I am OK and if the injury was more severe on my hand then I wouldn't have been able to bat"
"There is swelling and I am in pain, but I am hopeful that by applying ice overnight, I will feel better tomorrow"
"Look, I always bat like this [aggressively] but sometimes this clicks and other times it doesn't"
"I tried to remain positive today and told myself that given we were 57/5, I need to attack a bit here"
"If we attacked from that point, then I would be able to get our team and myself out of this situation"
"Fakhar Zaman played an excellent innings today and really gave me good support"
"He gave me a lot of confidence; I also prefer that I play alongside a batsman who rotates the strike"
"Fakhar Zaman handled the pressure of his first Test really well and he should be praised"
"I was really surprised by the turn on this pitch and I did not expect this to happen around 11am mark"
"We have played 10-15 Tests here and the ball always turns in the 4th or 5th Day but the way this pitch is behaving, this tells us that this is a different pitch compared to one we have played on before"
"We will try and get them out as soon as possible so that in the 4th innings we have high target to defend"
"Obviously it is very 'mentally & physically relaxing' when a player who has not been scoring runs [recently] is able to score at a time when the side needs it most"
"But I know that as a captain, this is not the time to relax as there are a lot of things which we need to fix"
"Its good that we were able to score 282 and fightback and the 2 wickets we have, including that of Usman Khawaja who is batsman capable of playing a long innings"
"I have said this before that Nathan Lyon is a much improve bowler"
"When he came before, we attacked him a lot but now he has over 300 wickets and is a better bowler now and has also played in India and Bangladesh too"
"So he has a good idea about how and what line to bowl in such conditions"
"I feel that there is big difference in Nathan Lyon's bowling between 2014 and today"
"You have to give credit to the Australian bowlers as the ball was turning sharply and it was 10-15 minute period when we lost 4 wickets"
"Yes we played some loose shots but we have to give credit to their bowling as well"
"There is of course pressure on me from all four sides; some people were saying that I should give up Test cricket, others were saying I should leave captaincy, some people wanted me out of the team; some were saying that Karachiwallas are supporting him, others are saying Lahorewallas..."
"So obviously there is a lot of pressure and as you know in our culture, pressure comes from all corners so this performance has given me some relief"
"Probably in 2015 and today was the most pressure filled knock"
"My left hand is not moving that well after I kept today - obviously as the ball hit it, its going to get swelling tonight"
"I hope it will get better if I give it ice treatment tonight"
"I think Mickey Arthur was talking about me - if I am not well tomorrow than another wicket-keeper is coming tomorrow"
"At that time Mitchell Starc bowled a quick bouncer to me, but the ball didn't rise that much when it came on to me, as the bounce was low"
"At that time, I was feeling a lot of pain but I could not come out as we did not have any batsmen coming after me, so I hung around and also my century was very close at that time"
"I dont think there is any concern about what the Australian team [is thinking about use of a substitute], its all about the umpires in this situation"
"If you see the India v West Indies Test, the keeper got injured as well but another keeper replaced him"
"We also have a substitute wicket-keeper so if I am not well, he will be coming in tomorrow"
"He's here, and he is with the A team [Sarfaraz Ahmed confirmed that it was Mohammad Rizwan when a journo asked him to confirm]"
Pakistan captain Sarfaraz Ahmed spoke to the media at the end of Day 1 of the 2nd Test:
"Obviously when we were 57/5, there was a lot of pressure on me as captain"
"We lost 4 wickets in 7-8 balls so I couldn't understand what was happening but then we tried to make sure we could see off that session, as 15 minutes before Lunch were a very difficult time for us"
"After Lunch, I planned with Fakhar to rotate the strike more as that was a better choice because if we had just hung around and kept on playing dot balls, then we could have been out at any moment as the pitch behavior had changed and the ball was gripping a lot"
"The ball was breaking a bit but thankfully we had a good partnership and we got to a reasonable score"
"and because of that the match situation has evened out for both teams"
"I am OK and if the injury was more severe on my hand then I wouldn't have been able to bat"
"There is swelling and I am in pain, but I am hopeful that by applying ice overnight, I will feel better tomorrow"
"Look, I always bat like this [aggressively] but sometimes this clicks and other times it doesn't"
"I tried to remain positive today and told myself that given we were 57/5, I need to attack a bit here"
"If we attacked from that point, then I would be able to get our team and myself out of this situation"
"Fakhar Zaman played an excellent innings today and really gave me good support"
"He gave me a lot of confidence; I also prefer that I play alongside a batsman who rotates the strike"
"Fakhar Zaman handled the pressure of his first Test really well and he should be praised"
"I was really surprised by the turn on this pitch and I did not expect this to happen around 11am mark"
"We have played 10-15 Tests here and the ball always turns in the 4th or 5th Day but the way this pitch is behaving, this tells us that this is a different pitch compared to one we have played on before"
"We will try and get them out as soon as possible so that in the 4th innings we have high target to defend"
"Obviously it is very 'mentally & physically relaxing' when a player who has not been scoring runs [recently] is able to score at a time when the side needs it most"
"But I know that as a captain, this is not the time to relax as there are a lot of things which we need to fix"
"Its good that we were able to score 282 and fightback and the 2 wickets we have, including that of Usman Khawaja who is batsman capable of playing a long innings"
"I have said this before that Nathan Lyon is a much improve bowler"
"When he came before, we attacked him a lot but now he has over 300 wickets and is a better bowler now and has also played in India and Bangladesh too"
"So he has a good idea about how and what line to bowl in such conditions"
"I feel that there is big difference in Nathan Lyon's bowling between 2014 and today"
"You have to give credit to the Australian bowlers as the ball was turning sharply and it was 10-15 minute period when we lost 4 wickets"
"Yes we played some loose shots but we have to give credit to their bowling as well"
"There is of course pressure on me from all four sides; some people were saying that I should give up Test cricket, others were saying I should leave captaincy, some people wanted me out of the team; some were saying that Karachiwallas are supporting him, others are saying Lahorewallas..."
"So obviously there is a lot of pressure and as you know in our culture, pressure comes from all corners so this performance has given me some relief"
"Probably in 2015 and today was the most pressure filled knock"
"My left hand is not moving that well after I kept today - obviously as the ball hit it, its going to get swelling tonight"
"I hope it will get better if I give it ice treatment tonight"
"I think Mickey Arthur was talking about me - if I am not well tomorrow than another wicket-keeper is coming tomorrow"
"At that time Mitchell Starc bowled a quick bouncer to me, but the ball didn't rise that much when it came on to me, as the bounce was low"
"At that time, I was feeling a lot of pain but I could not come out as we did not have any batsmen coming after me, so I hung around and also my century was very close at that time"
"I dont think there is any concern about what the Australian team [is thinking about use of a substitute], its all about the umpires in this situation"
"If you see the India v West Indies Test, the keeper got injured as well but another keeper replaced him"
"We also have a substitute wicket-keeper so if I am not well, he will be coming in tomorrow"
"He's here, and he is with the A team [Sarfaraz Ahmed confirmed that it was Mohammad Rizwan when a journo asked him to confirm]"
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