GALLE: Pakistan’s fourth-inning centurion Abdullah Shafique, who bolstered the tour squad to move closer to the 342-run target, has set his sights on leading the Greenshirts to victory in the first test against Sri Lanka.
Abdullah, in a statement published by the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) on the conclusion of the fourth day of the Test in progress, expressed his satisfaction with his magnificent stroke, while at the same time stating that he is aware that the work is not done yet. . .
“First of all, I want to express my gratitude to the Almighty that I was able to get the second proof hundred for Pakistan. We are currently in a very comfortable position, so I will do everything in my power to ensure that we chase the total tomorrow,” Abdullah stated.
“The work is not done yet, but the effort will be to keep our focus tomorrow and chase the remaining total. The objective is not to make it easy for us at any stage and I hope that the result will be in our favour”, he added.
The right-handed hitter then went on to reveal the team’s strategy for going for the total and stated that they broke the goal down into small partitions, session by session to get closer to him at the end of the day.
“The master plan was to go on the hunt, but we made little goals session by session to get closer to him,” he revealed.
The leadoff batsman, who went undefeated with a magnificent 122, also weighed in on his pivotal 101-run partnership with Pakistan captain Babar Azam, stating that the latter’s presence gives him a lot of confidence.
“Babar is a wonderful hitter and I have always learned from him.
It was helpful to have him on the other end.
He guided me at all times,” Abdullah shared.
“His wicket put more responsibility on me.
I tried not to lose a wicket and help my team end the day on a high note.
Now, my goal is to win this match for my team tomorrow”, he maintained.
Abdullah then praised Sri Lankan left-hander Prabath Jayasuriya, stating that the team’s strategy was to go after him and prevent him from stifling tour batsmen.
“We chose to go after Jayasuriya, a fantastic bowler who was extremely difficult to play on this pitch, and develop scoring options against him so that he didn’t feel like he was succeeding.”
It is pertinent to mention here that Pakistan needs another 120 runs on the final day to seal victory in the first ongoing Test against Sri Lanka. Centurion Abdullah (122*) and Mohammad Rizwan (7*) will resume proceedings for the touring team at 222/3.
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