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Shaheen Afridi defends spin-friendly pitches
Pakistan registered victory in the three-match ODI series against Australia, securing a 2-1 win after a tense final match at Lahore's Gaddafi Stadium. Despite Pakistan claiming the series, the nature of the pitches used across all three matches has triggered a widespread discussion. Pakistan opted for spin-friendly surfaces in both Rawalpindi and Lahore, rolling out the pitches that heavily favoured spin bowlers. These pitches appeared to be part of a deliberate strategy in order to exploit Australia's weakness against quality spin. Notably, Australia headed into the series without their key players.
"There are still 14-15 months to go for the World Cup. Whenever any team that plays in their own country prepares pitches that are suitable to them. And we know that we have Test series (against West Indies and England) coming up after this in which some of these players will play, and I think they can use them to prepare themselves better," Shaheen said at the press conference after Pakistan's 2-1 series win over Australia.
Meanwhile, Pakistan's approach proved successful. Their spin attack played a crucial role in restricting Australia, and the team superbly managed to take advantage of home conditions to secure the series. In the final match, Pakistan bowled Australia out for 157 in 42 overs after the visitors decided to bat.
In their chase, Pakistan found it difficult to put on runs, with openers Sahibzada Farhan, Ghazi Ghori and Salman Agha losing their wickets for 6, 8 and 15, respectively. Babar Azam, however, played a great role with a hard-fought 40 off 84, pushing the side towards victory. Later, Abdul Samad and Shadab Khan blasted 18 and 29 unbeaten to power the side to victory.
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