In reality, from start to finish, the hosts were all over Pakistan. Azan Awais (103, in the first innings) and Abdullah Fazal (60 and 66 respectively). These were the moments of cheer for the tourists, alongside Salman Ali Agha's half-century in the first innings.
Mohammed Rizwan scored 59, for which he deserves credit, but the Pakistan wicket-keeper batsman infuriates with his lack of consistency. Well, in the second innings bar Abdullah Fazal, all the other batsmen failed.
PSL winning pacer Nahid Rana got 5-40 in a spell that Pakistan couldn't handle. In fact, the team as a whole were 68-2, chasing 269 to win the first test, inexplicably collapsed to 163 all out. Seven wickets fell for 95 runs, which is some collapse.
So come on, all those who criticise Babar Azam have the same energy for the other senior players. Bar Azan Awais and Abdullah Fazal, all the other players need to take a long, hard look at themselves.
The Pakistan think tank needs to as well. Once upon a time, they used to have a conveyor belt of fast-bowling talent, but that talent is looking very threadbare at the moment. These are indeed very desperate times for Pakistani cricket.
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