Pakistan tour of Australia: On Wednesday, Shan Masood scored his first hundred as the captain of the Pakistan Test team during the first day of the four-day tour game against Prime Minister’s XI in Canberra, Australia.
The new Test captain, Shan Masood, played well for Pakistan in their tour game against the Australian Prime Minister’s XI. He scored a century on the first day of the match, which happened on December 6 at the Manuka Oval in Canberra. Shan Masood reached his century in 169 balls, and by the end of the day, Pakistan had scored over 200 runs in the 4-day match.
Shan Masood, 34 years old, hit his 25th first-class hundred in this match. He recently started as the captain of the Pakistan Test team and has had a strong beginning in this role. Shan took over the captaincy from Babar Azam, who stepped down after Pakistan’s disappointing performance in India’s Cricket World Cup 2023.
Shan Masood played a crucial role in stabilizing the top order for Pakistan. They faced an early setback when Imam-ul-Haq got out for just 9 runs in the first hour of the day’s play. The young South Australian bowler, Jordan Buckingham, bowled well with the ball swinging both ways on a sunny morning in Canberra. He managed to produce an inside edge from Imam, leading to his dismissal at 9 runs.
Shan Masood came in to bat at number 3 and seemed very confident. He built a useful partnership with the in-form Abdullah Shafique, who unfortunately got out for 38 runs in the 25th over. Shafique fell victim to a delivery from Mark Steketee that had extra bounce, resulting in a catch at short cover.
.@shani_official gets to his century in the four-day game against Prime Minister's XI 💯#PMXIvPAK | #AUSvPAK pic.twitter.com/SZUmXysCMF
— Pakistan Cricket (@TheRealPCB) December 6, 2023
Shan Masood partnered with former captain Babar Azam, and together, they appeared strong in the middle, maintaining a quick scoring rate. Babar showcased his well-known cover drive against off-spinner Todd Murphy and executed a beautiful straight drive. Unfortunately, he lost his wicket by attempting to play a shot at a delivery from Buckingham that was moving down the leg side.
Shan Masood remained calm and reached his century, contributing to a strong batting performance by Pakistan on the crucial first day of the tour match.
Shan Masood formed partnerships with Saud Shakeel and ex-captain Sarfaraz Ahmed during the last part of the match. Sarfaraz got the wicketkeeper’s role in the tour game instead of Mohammad Rizwan, but Captain Shan suggested that both might play in the Test series beginning on December 14.
Shan Masood emphasized the need to play bold and positive cricket to adapt to the evolving nature of Test cricket. He backed up his words by setting an example as the captain, leading from the front during the game in Canberra on Wednesday.
