Pakistan veteran batsman Mohammad Hafeez hit a memorable Test century on his comeback to the team after staining out of the red-ball side for more than two years.
Things had come to a boil when Hafeez didn’t make the cut for the ODI team for the recently concluded Asia Cup. The miffed all-rounder was on the verge of making a major announcement, believed to be an abrupt retirement, but was convinced to change his mind after getting assurances from the PCB, among others.
Looking back at that emotional day early last month, Hafeez said he is glad he didn’t take any drastic decisions as he basked in the glow of his 10th Test ton against Australia which helped Pakistan finish day one on 255-3 in Dubai.
“I was stopped from taking certain drastic steps after I was not selected for Asia Cup. Mentally I was not ready for that. I could have taken some steps. I was stopped by my wife and also Shoaib Akhtar, who called me,” Hafeez revealed on Sunday.
“I was extremely disturbed at that time. But I feel this is the best plan. Maybe this is where I was supposed to make a comeback.”
Luckily for Hafeez, Pakistan flopped at the Asia Cup and saw Fakhar Zaman and Sarfraz Ahmed lose form with the bat. That hastened Hafeez’s comeback into the Test arena.
A comeback century for Mohammad Hafeez, 791 days since he last played a Test match #PAKvAUS #Cricket
— Saj Sadiq (@Saj_PakPassion) October 7, 2018
“I was looking forward to the challenge. I was the 18th member announced by the management (for Australia Tests). I was playing domestic cricket, I scored good runs. I was expecting to come back.”
But that’s in the past now. Right now, Pakistan are three down for just over 250 on a pitch starting to offer reverse swing and turn. The 37-year-old opener said the team is looking at another 200 runs.
“The pitch was getting slow. There was more moisture on it. We managed it very well. Imam batted very well and gave me confidence. We are still happy as a team. We have 250 on board. If we manage to score 200 more, we will have a better chance to bowl with our spinners. Yasir Shah is our match winner in these conditions. We back ourselves to score 450 in first innings and put pressure on Australian batsmen.”
Siddle proud of effort
While Hafeez is happy with the overall state of the match, Australia fast bowler Peter Siddle is proud of the way in which his team fought back in the final session after Pakistan took tea at 199-0.
“Credit to Pakistan for putting us under pressure in first two sessions. Credit has to go to us after the break. To go in at tea at none for 200 and finish with three for 50 in the third session, it gives us a good platform,” Siddle said.
“The wicket didn’t offer a lot. We knew we had to just keep grinding. As we saw this evening, once the ball started reversing we made some inroads.”
