Loss in first Test against England cost us series: Azhar Ali

Southampton [UK], Aug 26 : After suffering their first Test series loss against England in the last ten years, Pakistan skipper Azhar Ali said that the defeat in the first Test was a gamechanger.
The third Test of the three-match series ended as a draw, and England won the series 1-0 as the side had won the first Test match.
England was 117/5 in the first Test while chasing 277, but Jos Buttler and Chris Woakes put on 139 runs for the sixth wicket as the hosts registered a famous three-wicket win.
"The first Test match cost us, of course. If we'd won that match, we'd be sitting here as series winners. But there are plenty of positives, even though of course we made mistakes. Unfortunately, the session that mattered most all series we lost. Sometimes that can disrupt a dressing room, and people can start pointing fingers at each other. But we stayed together as a group and tried to move forward. That's a good sign for us," ESPNCricinfo quoted Ali as saying.
Ali also labelled Babar Azam a world-class player even though the right-handed batsman had a mixed bag of a series. Azam managed to record just two scores of fifty-plus against England.
"Even Babar, who everyone had high expectations of, batted very well, I thought. The conditions were hostile for batting, but the authority with which he played few other batsmen did. He's a world-class player, and he always dominates other bowling line-ups," Ali said.
"All you need is one mistake to get out, and there are a few things you can always look at when you don't win the series. Of course, Babar will know if you get to 60, you should score a hundred. He knows that. But it's cricket, and that happens. His consistency is an example for all of us," he added.
Wicket-keeper batsman Mohammad Rizwan was named as Pakistan's Man of the Series, while Jos Buttler was named England's Man of the Series.
The final day of the third Test witnessed a delayed start due to rain and the first session did not see any play. Finally, the fifth and final day started after seeing a delay of five hours.
In the end, Babar Azam and Fawad Alam ensured that Pakistan does not lose the Test match. Azam and Alam remained unbeaten on 63 and 0 respectively with Pakistan at 187/4.
England had scored 583/8 in the first innings as Zak Crawley played a knock of 267 runs. Pakistan was then bundled out in the first innings for 273. Azhar Ali top-scored for the visitors as he played an unbeaten knock of 141 runs.
After this, the hosts had decided to enforce the follow-on after having a lead of 310 runs.
England had a 1-0 lead heading into the final match of the series after winning the first Test at Emirates Old Trafford by three wickets against Pakistan.
After being at 117/5, the hosts chased down 277 with Chris Woakes remaining unbeaten on 84.
Bad light and rain had played spoilsport in the second Test, and as a result, the match had ended as a draw.