Minutes after Pakistan squandered a chance of winning the first Test when Australia batted the entire fifth day to rescue a draw in Dubai last Thursday, captain Sarfraz Ahmed was forced to defend Yasir Shah.
The 32-year-old was identified as a ‘match-winner’ before a ball was even bowled given his impressive record in taking 169 scalps in 29 Tests for his country.
But playing in his first five-day match in exactly a year having recovered from a hip injury, Yasir was far from his best. He might have claimed four wickets on the final day including that of centurion Usman Khawaja but his overall match figures of 4-194 showed he was nowhere near the standard of what he can produce.
“He bowled well in domestic matches but there is a lot more pressure in a Test match,” Sarfraz told media in his post-match press conference. “This was his first game so hopefully he will bounce back strongly in the next match. He is our main bowler and we need to support him because he has been a great performer for Pakistan in the past.”
Sarfraz and the rest of Pakistan should be optimistic that their main weapon can start firing again and possibly lead them to a series victory when the second Test begins in Abu Dhabi on Tuesday.
Yasir Shah has taken 27 Test wickets in Abu Dhabi.
After all, it is a ground where he has produced the goods with the numbers there to prove it.
His 27 Test wickets is the most taken by any bowler at the Sheikh Zayed Stadium and that too in just four matches. He looks to hang on to that record for some time considering spinners Pakistan’s Zulfiqur Rahman (22) and Sri Lanka’s Rangana Herath (18), who sit second and third respectively, have called time on their international careers.
When it comes to five-wicket hauls, Yasir is one of three players to stand top of the rankings. He is joined by Herath and Pakistan pacer Junaid Khan, who last played red-ball cricket for his country in 2015, to have two five-fors to their names.
For Yasir, his last only came 13 months ago when he tore the Sri Lankan batsmen apart with 5-51 in the 21-run loss. But it came in a losing cause which condemned the Men in Green to a series loss – their first in the UAE since 2009 when they started playing their ‘home’ series.
In 2016, he went even better, taking 6-124 against the West Indies.
Even in 10-wicket hauls, Yasir is on the list. Sharing it with Herath, the Pakistani tormented the West Indians firstly with 4-86 and then completing the 133-run triumph with 6-124.
With the wickets likely to favour the spinners once again, Yasir will again be at the centre of attention. The numbers prove he has a strong record in the UAE capital and the spinner will be hoping history repeats itself this week and he show why he can still be Pakistan’s match-winner.
