PAK vs SL: Mohammad Taha hails Babar Azam’s support after Test fifty on debut vs Sri Lanka; ‘his guidance helped me’
Mohammad Taha has hailed skipper Babar Azam for his guidance during his maiden Test fifty on debut against Sri Lanka on the first day of the first Test at the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium on Monday. Taha was one of the four debutants Pakistan fielded in the playing XI. Tayyab Arif, Arafat Minhas, and Saqib Khan were the other three.
Coming into the side on the back of some strong shows for Pakistan TV in the President’s Trophy, Taha played a mature innings and showed lot of grit at No. 3 to score 51 off 105 deliveries on a greenish wicket that lured Sri Lanka captain Kusal Mendis to bowl first after winning the toss.
Sri Lanka struck back briefly by removing both Arif (57) and Azan Awais (30) in successive overs before Babar (50) and Taha carried the home team to the interval without further damage in the first session. Taha had a lucky escape when he survived a lbw off Milan Rathnayake.
Mohd Taha steadies Pakistan with two stands
Taha first forged a 69-run stand with Babar for the third wicket, before adding another 68 with Saud Shakeel for the fourth wicket. Taha credited Babar for making his transition to international cricket smooth.
“Naturally, there were some early nerves given that it was my debut match. However, as the innings progressed, batting alongside Babar proved immensely reassuring as his guidance at the crease helped me settle in,” Taha said, as reported by International Cricket Council (ICC).
“Babar and our head coach (Mike Hesson) provided significant encouragement, advising me to trust the same game plan and processes that brought me success during the domestic season,” added the youngster.
Batting isn’t easy on this Rawalpindi wicket, but there is still a long way to go in the first Test, stated Taha. “We are taking things step-by-step; given our strong position, with Saud (Shakeel) and Arafat Minhas still to come, our objective tomorrow is to post a substantial first-innings total to put the opposition under pressure,” he added.
“While batting is not entirely straightforward on this surface, it becomes somewhat more manageable once a batter is established, though it remains challenging for incoming players. Posting in excess of 400 runs in the first innings will set a very competitive benchmark.”
Pakistan declare first innings at 434/9
Meanwhile, Pakistan have declared their first innings at 434/9 in the second session of the second day. If Day 1 belonged to Taha, Babar and Arif, the second ay belonged to Shakeel, Minhas and wicketkeeper-batter Ghazi Ghori. It was painful for Shakeel to miss on a hundred by seven runs, while Ghori fell just two runs short of his fifty.
Minhas (52) became the third batter to make a fifty on debut in the match. For Sri Lanka, Asitha Fernando and Dilshan Madushanka took three wickets each, while Lahiru Kumara, Milan Priyanath Rathnayake and Sonal Dinusha all took one wicket apiece.
