Pat Cummins downplayed Mohammad Hafeez's remarks regarding Pakistan's superior team performance in the second Test on Friday.
Despite losing the Boxing Day Test against Australia at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, Pakistan's team director, Mohammad Hafeez, expressed his satisfaction with the team's performance and even claimed that they outperformed the hosts. It is worth noting that Pakistan had the upper hand when Australia found themselves at 16/4 on Day 3. However, a missed catch by Abdullah Shafique at slip allowed Mitchell Marsh to score 96 runs, which ultimately helped the Pat Cummins-led side gain momentum.
During the chase of 317 runs, Pakistan remained competitive for the majority of the match. Captain Shan Masood once again showcased his skills by scoring a half-century, with Babar Azam providing valuable support. After their dismissal, Mohammad Rizwan and Agha Salman attempted to take control of the situation but failed to capitalize on the opportunity.
Rizwan's dismissal was a subject of controversy due to the on-field umpire initially ruling him not-out for a caught behind appeal. However, Pat Cummins, unsure of the decision, decided to review it, and a spike was detected on the ultra edge. Interestingly, no concrete evidence was found on the hotspot, which left the wicketkeeper-batsman extremely dissatisfied when he was eventually given out. Hafeez addressed this issue, expressing his belief that some decisions did not go their way, and the outcome could have been different if they had.
"We played better cricket as a team. I'm proud of that. The way the team had the courage to attack this game in the best possible way. If I sum up the game, the Pakistan team played better than the other team in general. Our batting intent was better, and while bowling, we were hitting the right areas. Yes, we made some mistakes that cost us the game but as a team, I believe that there were a lot of positives, enough to win the game but unfortunately, at the end, we didn't win the game," Hafeez said.
In response to Hafeez's comments, Cummins acknowledged that the Pakistani team performed well at the MCG. Nevertheless, he emphasized his satisfaction with the victory, stating that it does not concern him what others think about the game.
“Ahhhh. Cool. They played well. I am glad we got the win. It doesn’t really matter, does it? It is the team who wins at the end,” the captain said as per news.com.au.
Pakistan will aim to secure at least one victory as they confront Australia in the ultimate Test of the three-match series on January 3rd at the prestigious Sydney Cricket Ground.
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 "'Doesn't really matter': Pat Cummins responds to Mohammad Hafeez’s ‘Pakistan played better than Australia’ remark")
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