England took note of these efforts, especially as they struggled against Pakistan's spinners on a turning track in Multan. According to ESPNcricinfo, Harry Brook mentioned in a press conference that he felt the Rawalpindi pitch was “racked” so that it would deteriorate quickly, allowing the spinners to play first. England then announced a playing eleven with only one specialist seamer, Gus Atkinson, and added legspinner Rehan Ahmed.
Pakistan has had to take drastic measures to build a turning track in Rawalpindi because, unlike Multan, the pitch there is not inherently spin-friendly. This time they do not have a used pitch available, as they did when they reused the Multan pitch for the second Test. According to ESPNcricinfo, Masood said he “never saw it taking the turn” in Rawalpindi, and his vice-captain Saud Shakeel agreed, but he hoped the situation would be different this time. “If you look at the difference between Multan and Pindi, there is a difference of climate,” Shakeel said, according to ESPNcricinfo.
“Multan is hotter than Pindi, Multan is hotter and more humid than Pindi. Pindi is a little more favorable for fast bowlers and has more bounce than Multan. The groundsman prepares accordingly and I think That's why the pitch changes,” he said. “But the way the pitch is looking and the success we have had in the second Test, we will try to play the kind of pitch that suits us and helps us win this game,” he said.
“We have to look at the pitches series by series and match by match. And we have realized this quite late,” Shakeel said, according to ESPNcricinfo. “If you SENA [दक्षिण अफ्रीका, इंग्लैंड , न्यूजीलैंड और ऑस्ट्रेलिया में सीरीज] If you want to prepare for, you can do so during practice and first-class cricket. If there is first-class cricket before South Africa, we can prepare pitches like that there. But we have to adapt to the pitches and conditions series-by-series and according to the opposition,” he commented. “Our comeback in the second game gave us really good morale. Winning always helps a lot in creating a positive environment. We will once again try to give advantage to the spinners because they had to struggle with it in the second Test,” Shakeel is keen to give a chance to the spinners. Unlike England, Pakistan did not announce its playing eleven on Tuesday, but would rather wait. And would have liked to see how the pitch looked. Leg spinner Zahid Mahmood was ineffective in Multan, bowling only six overs in the entire match, which may increase his chances of playing the specialist seamer. (ANI)
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