Pakistan captain Babar Azam revealed that Shan Masood broke his finger during the first Test against the West Indies in Trinidad, an injury that affected the team’s batting plans in their 90-run defeat.Masood got the injury while batting in the first innings and he was forced to bat at No. 8 in the second innings. Pakistan were bowled out for just 120 as they slumped to their eighth Test defeat, leaving them at the bottom of the ICC World Test Championship standings.“Yes, we were affected by Shan Masood’s injury because, unfortunately, he broke his finger, so we really missed him,” confirmed Babar.He added, “At the same time, when you face the new ball, you have to survive the first 20 overs, build partnerships, and then, as the ball gets bigger, the pitch becomes easier
Babar streets: batting collapse
Babar scored a fighting half-century, but Pakistan’s batting line-up failed to support him as Jayden Seales claimed five wickets.“We played well cricket in the last few days, but today we are off the mark as a batting unit,” said Babar.“The surface is good and we expect the new ball to work for what we are prepared for… but I think they bowled very well and used the conditions well. We will be together and discuss these things because, while the result does not go our way, we will certainly solve our mistakes. We will do our best to correct them and make sure we progress forward,” he added.
Greaves shines in West Indies
Justin Greaves was named Player of the Match after taking his five-wicket haul in the first innings before adding two more wickets in the second. He said, “We came in and tried to be as disciplined as possible. I imitated Mohammad Abbas’s fuller length when he bowled against us in the first and second innings and it worked really well for us.”The second Test starts in Port of Spain on August 2.