Dubai: Australian opener Aaron Finch stayed upbeat despite the disappointment of his Test debut knock of 62, and a partnership of 142 with Usman Khawaja (85), did not place his team on top on the third day.
When Gulf News asked whether he was disappointed at his team’s batting collapse to be all out for 202 despite the good start, Finch said: “It wasn’t ideal to lose 10 for 60, but I thought the way we fought back in the last 17 overs to have them three down is good. Yes, 320 is still a significant lead — or deficit for us — but I thought the way we fought back was really positive.”
Finch knows that such things can happen in the sub-continent.
“Anytime you play in the sub-continent you know that when you have new batters in, it can be tough to start. Pakistan get up and about when they get some wickets. It is about identifying that and being more patient and calm when you first get to the crease. They bowled exceptionally well. Bilal [Asif], with six-for on debut, was very good today,” Finch said.
Finch had no hesitation in lauding Pakistan’s effort.
“They squeezed hard for a 10-over period, they bowled straight but with a little reverse swing, and spin at the other end. It was tough going, a real grind. Credit to them, the 20 minutes before lunch and the 20 minutes after lunch were some real quality bowling. I felt we were just about through that,” he said. “In the sub-continent, on slow wickets like this, the game flows. You can go through those 40 minute periods of no runs, then the runs flow for 15 minutes and they bring it back together. Once the ball gets a little softer, it starts to be more inconsistent off the wicket.”
Hailing Bilal’s effort, Finch said: “The bounce Bilal was getting with the old ball was extraordinary. He bowled quality and we are going to have to come up with some really good plans in the second innings. We are still really positive we can come out and fight hard in the second half of this game. The way they squeezed the run rate just before and after lunch put us under a lot of pressure.”
Did Asif take them by surprise as an unknown entity? “There was a lot of videos that we watched, did a lot of research but watching on a computer screen is obviously very different to being out in a Test match environment facing him. The difference was the bounce. He is very tall, gets over the top, puts a lot of revs on the ball which was a challenge to start with.”
