Sajid Khan reveals tactics behind recent six-wicket haul against England on ‘dissimilar’ pitch. (Photo source: Stu Forster/Getty Images)
With the third and final Test of the series between Pakistan and England being the decider, it was only a matter of time before the nature of the pitch would be determined. Day 1 served as an accurate measure. The day belonged to the spinners, which does not come as a surprise.
However, it was Sajid Khan who grabbed all the headlines. Onlookers would compare his performance on similar lines to his outing in the first innings of the second Test. However, the tracks in Multan and Rawalpindi were contrasting in nature, as highlighted by the wily spinner.
“On this wicket, 25–30 overs, something will happen, and after that, the ball gets softer. On the Multan wicket, even if the ball gets soft, and we get edges, we will reap rewards. On the Rawalpindi pitch, that is not the case. It was Day 1 and the bowling was good. England also played some bad shots. The wickets are dissimilar. So, I had to vary the pace, I don’t have the doosra in my ranks, whatever wickets I got was by varying the pace,” stated Sajid, as quoted by India Today.
He also reserved praise for the selection committee for preparing an un-Rawalpindi pitch for the ongoing game. “Credits to the newly appointed selection committee. Especially our chairman head coach and Aqib bhai. Credit to them as Rawalpindi doesn’t have these kinds of wickets, but they made it for spinners,” noted Sajid.
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He shares a lot with me and we enjoy ourselves a lot: Sajid
Sajid also reflected on his views on his time on the field with the 38-year-old, Noman Ali. “Noman is really experienced, he tells me a lot of things. There is always enjoyment when I get wickets alongside him. He shares a lot with me and we enjoy a lot,” added Sajid.
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Sajid and Noman have been on fire in the three innings they have featured with the ball in this series up until now. Out of the 30 wickets to have fallen across the innings, 29 have been accounted for by both of them.