There’s no doubt that Pakistan can beat Australia in Australia: Mohammad Hafeez

Pakistan’s team director Mohammad Hafeez remains optimistic despite a crushing 360-run loss to Australia in the first Test. The defeat, marred by a feeble batting performance with Pakistan getting bundled out for a mere 89 runs in the final innings, left them facing a challenging task to break a losing streak of 15 consecutive matches in Australia.

Hafeez acknowledged that Pakistan fell short in executing their pre-game strategies, attributing the defeat to tactical errors that proved costly. The team’s batting collapse, seeing them at a precarious 17/3 within seven overs during the chase, mirrored their struggles. Despite this setback, Hafeez retained hope, expressing confidence in their ability to bounce back and overcome the formidable Australian side on their home turf.

“I’ve seen during our preparation the amount of talent these guys have. There’s no doubt that they can beat Australia here in Australia. But obviously, we couldn’t do that execution-wise. The plan was there and we prepared accordingly. I still believe that as a team, Pakistan can beat Australia here in Australia, but we must execute our skills when required,” Hafeez said as quoted by Cricbuzz.

“We couldn’t execute our skills. We made plans for the team, but unfortunately, as a team, we couldn’t execute our plans. Obviously, the guys wanted to, but they never applied themselves, to be honest. As a team, we made a couple of tactical errors. There were certain situations where we could have dominated. We were prepared, but our execution wasn’t great,” he added.

‘You start questioning things’ – Cummins on mental aspects of playing away games

The Australia captain, Pat Cummins, reflected on Pakistan’s challenging stint in Perth, highlighting the difficulties of away Tests. Pakistan, burdened by a substantial first-innings gap, struggled to capitalize on the demanding pitch conditions with the ball. Their pursuit of a colossal 450-run target culminated in defeat, in just 30 overs. Cummins outlined the tough nature of the task a cricketer faces mentally when exposed to testing conditions away from home.

“We know from travelling overseas if you go to foreign conditions and if you’re a batter and you don’t score runs, you start questioning things. As a bowler, if you haven’t had a huge impact, you start looking at your own game perhaps a bit more than you do at home. We love these conditions. We know these conditions really well. I think that’s what makes playing and winning away from home so difficult,” Cummins said.