Would have been 'happier' if ton led to Pakistan victory: Imam

The youngest batsman to make 150 runs on English soil, Imamul Haq has said that he would have been happier if the team had won and that his innings has helped him in becoming more confident.

The left-handed batsman said that the role given to him as an opener by the coach and captain was to stay at the wicket, while keeping the scoreboard moving.

“Since Fakhar Zaman plays with an attacking mindset, it is my responsibility to occupy one end, so that he can play freely. I try to stay at the wicket till the end, ” said Zaman. “When two early wickets fell, all I thought was that I needed to occupy the wicket for the full fifty overs.”

The Opener said that in order to make big scores, it is vital that one of the top three occupies the crease till the end.

“It wasn’t an easy score to chase but England found it easy because of a few dropped catches. Dropped catches are also part of the game. We will try to learn from our mistakes and perform better in the future,” he said. “The important thing is that the players are working very hard in every match and they are working even harder to bring their performances up to the required standard.”

Imam said that the matches against England before the World Cup are a great learning experience and will help the team in the mega event.

“If the team had won, than it would have been great. This innings has boosted my confidence. I will try to maintain this level of performance in the future matches and try to live up to the team management’s expectations.”

The left-handed opener is now the youngest batsman to score 150 runs in one-day internationals (ODIs) on English soil. He completed the milestone at the age of 23. Previously, the youngest batsman to make a score of 150 was Kapil Dev who made 175 against Zimbabwe in 1983. Dev was 24 at the time.