Pakistan vs South Africa: Shan Masood Calls for Ruthlessness After Pakistan’s Inability to Seal the Victory

After getting a defeat in the 1st Test against South Africa, Pakistan failed to capitalize on key moments, losing by two wickets in a thrilling Boxing Day Test at Centurion. Pakistan had South Africa on the ropes, with the hosts at 99/8, chasing a modest 148, but a resilient partnership between Kagiso Rabada and Marco Jansen saw them snatch victory.

Pakistan’s skipper, Shan Masood, reflected on the loss, stressing the need for the team to be more ruthless in critical situations. He pointed out that Pakistan had opportunities to extend their advantage with both bat and ball, especially when they had South Africa at eight wickets down on two occasions. He said:

We had the game in our hand, whether with the bat or the ball, I don’t have to add anything and sound like a broken record. [I’m] extremely proud of the efforts, but going forward as a team we need to be ruthless. We’ve been competing well in these conditions and I’ve said that before when we played in Australia in similar conditions. We had the game by the scruff of the neck and even here twice, we had them eight down and we thought we were in a reasonable position and even with the bat, when we could have extended our score in both innings.

Masood acknowledged that mistakes are inevitable but emphasized that Pakistan needed a cushion in such moments to retain control. With the loss, Pakistan is now 0-1 down in the series and must regroup ahead of the second Test.