Pakistan went after win rather than draw, says Babar Azam

Pakistan captain Babar Azam Monday said had Pakistan not lost back-to-back wickets, it would have defeated the English team, reported 24NewsHD TV channel.

Speaking after the first test between Pakistan and England at Rawalpindi Stadium, Azam said the team were playing as per the strategy, but England struck back with seven runs an over.

"We had a golden chance to win this Test, but session by session we kept losing wickets and didn't get strong partnerships, he added.

Babar said that our batting side performed very well and the bowlers too.

The skipper said the absence of pacer Shaheen Shah Afridi was felt in Pindi's Test and also noted that he wasn't aware whether Haris Rauf would be able to join the side in Multan.

The captain added that the pitch at Rawalpindi Stadium wasn't as per his team's requirements. Babar said his side wanted a wicket which could turn more. "There was input from us, but the pitch wasn't as per our plans and requirements. And our plans, we couldn't execute them unfortunately," he said.

A lot of damage was done on the first day when Pakistan quicks couldn't control the run-flow and let England off the hook completely to put up a big total in a very short amount of time.

"We wanted a wicket which could turn but unfortunately due to weather and preparation, that sort of wicket couldn't be made."

Azam also credited the England quicks for their outstanding display of fast bowling on a rather flat deck.

The duo of Agha Salman and Azhar Ali battled out some excellent reverse swing bowling and forged a 61-run partnership before things started to collapse after the tea interval.

Ollie Robinson struck twice in successive overs to nip out Agha Salman and Azhar Ali to then bring out Pakistan's tail into the middle.

Pakistan's last pair of Naseem Shah and Mohammad Ali defied England for 35 minutes and 8.5 overs before spinner Jack Leach trapped Naseem leg-before, leaving England players ecstatic.

"I thought Naseem and Mohammad Ali showed a great effort, unfortunately, Naseem got out. But as a batting unit, we should've taken responsibility and not leave on the tail-enders. We should've won this match since things were in our control."

The second Test is in Multan from December 9 to 13, and the third in Karachi from December 17 to 21.