Series not over yet, says Azhar
Pakistan captain Azhar Ali insisted there is all to play for carrying out a dramatic three-wicket loss to England in the first Test at Old Trafford, where his side were "one punch away" from victory.
England, chasing a target of 277 -- only one higher total has been achieved to win in the fourth innings of a Test at the Manchester ground -- were in big trouble at 117-5. But a sixth-wicket stand of 139 between player of the match Chris Woakes, who finished on 84 not out, and Jos Buttler (75) changed the course of the overall game during Saturday's fourth day.
It was an especially bitter defeat for Pakistan as they have been the better side for much of this Test.
But the lack of several wickets late on Friday during an eventual second innings of 169 cost them dear in a match where Shan Masood made a Test-best 156 in the first innings and leg-spinner Yasir Shah took eight wickets in all.
Pakistan, who have not lost a string against England for a decade, must regroup quickly before the second Test in a three-match campaign starts at Southampton on Thursday.
"It's disappointing but not over yet, you may still find two Tests to go," Azhar told reporters. "There a whole lot of positives out of this game, we outplayed England on most elements of this Test match. I wouldn't say we lost the match in (our) second innings, but we missed an opportunity to knock England out of your game there."
Pakistan, however, were still in command during an England top-order collapse on Saturday that saw four wickets lost for 31 runs.
"We were sure we'd wrap it up if yet another wicket fell," said Azhar. "However they (Buttler and Woakes) attacked from the off and snatched the overall game from us. Sometimes you merely have to give credit to the opposition. We were in charge of the overall game; we were one punch from finishing it off, but they came and dominated us."
Azhar, a consultant batsman, managed just 18 runs in a match where he was out for a duck in the first innings. But although he has scored a mere 139 runs in his past 12 away Test innings, Azhar denied captaincy was affecting his batting.
"When I bat, I'm not taking into consideration the captaincy, whether I'm out of form," he said. "And when I'm captain, I don't think about my batting at all."
SCORES IN BRIEF
PAKISTAN: First innings 326 and second innings 169 all out (Yasir 33; Broad 3-37, Woakes 2-11, Stokes 2-11)
ENGLAND: First innings 219 and second innings 277 for 7 (Buttler 75, Woakes 84 not out; Yasir 4-99)
Result: England won by 3 wickets and lead the 30match series 1-0.
Player-of-the-match: Chris Woakes.
