Pakistan opener Shan Masood wants to capitalise on the good start that they have received on Day of the first Test against England at the Old Trafford on Wednesday.

Masood, who batted through the rain-hit day and will resume the second day’s play with Babar Azam at the other end, said that he just wanted to take the shine of the new ball and make life easier for the next batsmen.

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“Situationally you always have to look at the team. We always knew that the new ball is going to be a struggle. It’s not an easy gig being an opening batsman in this country. But there comes an opportunity to give your team a good start, especially if you opt to bat first,” ESPNCricinfo quoted Masood as saying

“I just thought it was very important to take the shine off the ball in the first hour and make it easier for the guys coming in. The ball did a bit off the seam in the first session but as the second session went on, we got into a bit of a scoring mode,” he added.

Pakistan ended the opening day’s play with the score of 139/2. Babar and Masood, with their unbeaten partnership of 96 runs shifted the moment brilliantly to the visitors’ favour. While Babar is batting at 69, Masood has made 46 in his gritty 152-ball knock so far.

Pakistan’s number four, Babar, had joined Masood in the post-lunch session when the visitors were pushed into the corner by the England bowlers. Opener Abid Ali (16 runs off 37 deliveries) was sent back to the pavilion cheaply, while skipper Azhar Ali had failed to disturb the scorers.

Babar got off the mark in the second session with a four off the first ball he faced from James Anderson. He hardly ever looked fussed throughout his free flowing innings in the second session.

Masood, at the other end, proved to be an able ally as he weathered the initial storm of the English attack before holding on to his wicket throughout the day. However, he admitted that Pakistan would still have a long way to go on the second day.

“But I think there’s a long way to go, both as a team and as an individual, and you
want to capitalise on any start you get. So hopefully, tomorrow, we can make this count,” Masood said.