Pakistan skipper Shoaib Malik promised a “hard comeback” in Kolkata after his team’s challenge fell apart in the series opener which India won by six wickets at Feroz Shah Kotla Stadium.
 “It is disappointing for us to lose this Test but there are still two more matches to go in this series and we are looking forward to making a hard comeback in Kolkata,” Malik told Pakistani journalists.

Malik said that Pakistan’s inability to put on enough runs on the scoreboard led to their downfall in the Delhi Test. The Pakistanis were bowled out for 231 and 247 allowing the hosts the luxury to chase 203 on a surprisingly easy Kotla wicket. Pakistan’s big three Mohammad Yousuf, Younis Khan and Malik himself failed to fire in the Test. “We were 100 runs short in the second innings,” said Malik.

He defended leg spinner Danish Kaneria’s inability to trouble the Indian batsmen in the second innings. “A spinner needs ample runs to defend to get the batsmen out,” he pointed out adding that the fact that the Kotla wicket didn’t crumble also played a role in the eventual outcome of the match.

 “If the sun had shone on this pitch, it would have behaved differently. From the day the match started, it hardly got any sunshine though there was plenty of it when we trained here a day before the start of the Test,” he said.

Malik was all praise for his main strike bowler Shoaib Akhtar. “Shoaib was outstanding in this match and his performance is great for the Pakistan team,” he remarked. Shoaib, playing his first Test in almost ten months, was by far Pakistan’s best bowler with 6-102 in the match including a four-wicket haul in the second innings.

The skipper rejected the impression that a lack of aggression is affecting Pakistan’s performance on the current tour. “We hade the aggression and passion but needed to put on 300 for India to chase which unfortunately we didn’t,” he explained.
The second Test starts at the Eden Gardens from 30th December (Friday).