'Australia will be dangerous' after Dubai epic – Arthur
Pakistan seemed on course to take a 1-0 lead in the two-match series when they set Australia 462 to win, and reduced them 136/3 by stumps on the fourth day. The visitors refused to throw in the towel, though, and led by Usman Khawaja, Travis Head and captain Tim Paine, they held out for a draw.
"Of course Australia will be dangerous after the fight they put up, no doubt about that," said Arthur, Pakistan's Australian coach. "But I am confident that we are playing good enough cricket and we will come harder.
"For me, it was really disappointing that we did not cross the line. But the good thing for us is that it has hurt the players as if we have lost, and that for me is a good sign. It shows that the boys are getting mentally tough and maturing and do not settle for second best any more.
"That culture we want to create is getting through to our players and we will be raring to go in the second Test."
Arthur conceded Pakistan could have bowled better in the final innings, but did not take away any credit from the visitors, particularly Khawaja, who stayed in the middle an incredible 524 minutes, scoring a 302-ball 141.
"We certainly got some good runs in the first innings, golden runs as there were some good knocks," said Arthur. "We then bowled well in the first innings but not very good in the second innings on a fifth-day pitch.
For his gusty innings @Uz_Khawaja is the Man of the Match 👏#PAKvAUS More: https://t.co/qLbgL1oVmg pic.twitter.com/odC0i1pVjN
— Pakistan Cricket (@TheRealPCB) October 11, 2018
"I think we have got to hand it to them – on a day five wicket with Yasir Shah and (Mohammad) Abbas, two world-class bowlers in the attack, we backed ourselves to win the Test. We can win nine times out of ten on a fifth-day pitch, but Khawaja played exceptionally well and Tim Paine played pretty well too and took away the game."
Arthur also confirmed that Pakistan would be without opener Imam-ul-Haq for the second Test after he fractured his finger in the Dubai Test. "Imam has been batting very well so it's a loss," he said. "But that gives an opportunity to another player to show his talent."
The second Test will begin in Abu Dhabi on 16 October.