By Qaiser Mohammad Ali, IANS
Kolkata : Pakistan coach Geoff Lawson said his batsmen showed a lot of character to force a draw when India looked like winning at several stages in the second Test that ended here Tuesday.
“I think character is exactly the right word. For much of the time on Day Three we were in all sorts of trouble and the character of the three batsmen then showed up,” he told reporters at Eden Gardens.
“Then again today there were a few nerves when we lost a couple of wickets in a hurry. But we showed a ton of character,” he said.
Chasing a tough target of 345 in 81 overs, Pakistan salvaged a draw with Younis Khan (107 not out, 214 minutes, 182 balls, 14x4s) and Mohammed Yousuf (44 not out, 143 minutes, 110 balls, 6x4s) hitting the form for the first time in the series.
India lead the series 1-0. The third and final Test starts in Bangalore Saturday.
“We proved we were hard to bowl out and we are still in this series. We are feeling pretty good seeing where we are at right now as compared to two and half days ago,” said Lawson.
“When you escape from games like this you learn a lot and you gain a lot, mentally in particular. It is an achievement to get out with a draw, a highly great achievement.”
The former Australia fast bowler mentioned that Pakistan, needing 11 runs an over to win in the last 15 overs, tried to go for the target.
“I did actually mention it in the dressing room. And the fact that Younis was batting and he did play a sweep shot of his glove past the point last ball before the drinks break, I thought he must be thinking the same way,” he said.
“Yes, I did think about it, but we decided to play for time,” he disclosed.
Lawson he said Pakistan expected the pitch to do a bit more on the fourth and fifth day.
“It was just the foot holes that did something and it did hang together quite well. That made batting a little bit easier on the fourth and fifth day. I think the pitch surprised a lot of us, that it was so good for batting on the last day,” he admitted.