Pakistan retain winning squad for second Test vs Australia

Pakistan today retained the same 16-man squad for the second Test against Australia which won the first match by a convincing 221-run margin

Dubai: Pakistan today retained the same 16-man squad for the second Test against Australia which won the first match by a convincing 221-run margin. Chief selector Moin Khan said the team has given a good performance and deserved to be retained for the second Test starting in Abu Dhabi from Thursday.


Moin Khan 

"The selectors are encouraged and delighted with the performance of the Pakistan side in the first Test and a lot of credit must be given to Younis Khan, who utilized all his knowledge and experience to score two centuries in the Dubai Test," Khan was quoted as saying in a Pakistan Cricket Board press release.

Younis became Pakistan's seventh batsmen to hit twin centuries in the Test which finished on Sunday. He also overhauled Pakistan's record of most Test centuries held by Inzamam-ul Haq with 25. Younis now has 26 hundreds in 93 Tests. Pakistan piled up 454 in the first innings and bowled Australia out for 303 in their first knock, taking a big 151-run lead.

They then declared their second innings on 286-2 to set Australia a big 438-run target. Australia were bowled out for 216 in their second innings with left-arm spinner Zulfiqar Babar taking five wickets and leg-spinner Yasir Shah taking four. Khan warned Pakistan to stay focused as Australia can bounce back.

"Coach Waqar Younis has been emphasizing on staying focused and this is the best advice he has given to his players at this stage. Australia is a dangerous side and has all the potential to bounce back, and, as such, we need to avoid complacency and being over-confident," said Khan.

"There is an added incentive for the players in Abu Dhabi. If they win, then they will jump to third behind South Africa and Australia in the ICC Test Rankings. This will be Pakistan's highest ranking for some time. But, this will not come easy and we will have to play really hard and well to earn it."

Squad: Misbah-ul Haq (captain), Ahmed Shehzad, Asad Shafiq, Azhar Ali, Ehsan Adil, Haris Sohail, Imran Khan, Mohammad Hafeez, Mohammad Talha, Rahat Ali, Sarfraz Ahmed,
Shan Masood, Taufeeq Umar, Yasir Shah, Younis Khan, Zulfiqar Babar.

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