Shan Masood terms Multan victory against England 'special'

Pakistan team captain Shan Masood was over the moon after the hosts overwhelmed the much-better England team in the second cricket Test match played in Multan.

Talking to the media men after thrashing England by 152 runs to level the three-match series 1-1 on Friday, Shan Masood said: “The first one is always special, after some rough times. For the boys to step in, a lot has happened this past week, but we came up with a strategy to get 20 wickets and we made it happen.”

He said “Three years and 11 months created hunger, can't doubt the effort and commitment, it's come after some tough times, put plans in place and backed up with decent first and second-innings scores.”

“We tried green seamers against Bangladesh and were a bit off. Not a lot of cricket was played in Multan, it offered some spin. Noman and Sajid are seasoned campaigners,” he said and added “Big efforts in the field, everyone has a part to play.”

Shan said “For Kamran, never easy to replace one of best batters in the world, I read some things that were horrid, but to get that century was special. And Agha is one of my favourite players. A team player, Pakistan all-in. Saim Ayub played maturely in the first innings."

Shan Masood hailed Pakistan's second Test win over England in Multan as a "relief" but warned his team's dire recent record would take a long time to turn around.

"This was a very important win for Pakistan cricket. The recent results were unacceptable. There is relief, whether you ask cricketers or fans," said Masood.

"We were hurt after recent results and wanted a positive result, which has come here," he said. "We need to carry this forward because things will not change overnight."

Noman finished with a match haul of 11-147 while Sajid had figures of 9-204, only the second time in Pakistan's history that two bowlers took all 20 wickets in a Test.

Pakistan's last Test win at home came against South Africa in Rawalpindi more than three years ago. It was followed by 11 home Tests without a win.

Friday's victory is the first for Masood in his six Tests since being appointed captain last year. "This win is special for the team and for me as well," he said.

Pakistan dropped ace batsman Babar Azam in one of four changes after their defeat in the first Test.

"Since I've come in we've had no issue taking risks. We've tried to play cricket that brings results, and we've lost a lot of matches doing that too," said Masood.

"But we want to become a team that can produce results anywhere. This is a long process and journey."

Masood said his team's first innings score of 366 had set up the win.

"We need big first innings with the bat and then the bowlers to back us up," said Masood, whose team then bowled England out for 291 for an invaluable 75-run lead.

"The lead took the third innings pressure off us," he said.

The final Test starts in Rawalpindi on October 24.