Misbah heaps praise Shan after career-best knock

Pakistan cricket team’s head coach Misbah ul Haq heaped praise on the opening batsman Shan Masood for his career-best score on day two in the first Test on Thursday.

The left-hander shattered numerous records in his fantastic 156-run knock which include 18 boundaries and two maximums. The innings helped Pakistan reach more than respectable total of 326.

Speaking to media at the end of day-two play in Manchester, Misbah praised the Karachi native and believes that his hard work and commitment is finally paying off.

“Excellent performance by him [Masood], especially against the pace attack, consist of quality bowlers like [Stuart] Broad, [James] Anderson, Jofra Archer and [Chris] Woakes,” said Misbah. “He was also playing against an off-spinner who was bowling well on a pitch where the ball was turning.”

He added: “Masood’s dedication and hard work pays off. He is a hardworking guy, very fit and committed all of these three things showed in this innings and also from his consistency in last three series where he is scoring a lot of runs. So I am really pleased for him for not just getting a hundred but getting a big one which put us in a good position.”

At the end of the day, England lost four top order batsmen including captain Joe Root with just 94 run on the board. Ollie Pope and Jos Buttler remained unbeaten with 46 and 15 respectively.