Pakistan were met with early setbacks after they opted to bat first in third Test against Australia in Sydney on Wednesday.
The visitors lost both of their openers on duck, leaving Shan Masood-led unit 4-2 in just 1.4 overs.
Mohammad Rizwan provided the much-needed stability to the team but it was Aamer Jamal's late heroics with the bat, scoring 82 runs in 97 balls which included nine fours and four sixes, that guided Pakistan to a fighting total as they managed to score 313 runs just before the stumps of day one.
Opening up after the match, Jamal revealed that he has struggled a lot and every moment on the field means a lot to him. The 27-year-old also stated that he was mentally ready to take on the Australian bowlers because he knew they would come hard on tailenders.
"Cricket is my passion and when your passion becomes your profession, you don’t stress it but you enjoy it. You want to live in the moment. I have come after a lot of struggle, it is not like I got this [place] all of a sudden, I struggled but never gave up. So now, everything and every stage means a lot, it means the world to me. My personal milestone was just to reach the team. Now my only goal is to play and perform for Pakistan," Jamal said.
"We were talking about the bowlers, we knew they were gonna come hard on us, so what we needed to do was just stick to the plan given from the coaching staff.
"I was mentally ready because at my position, they [Australian bowlers] want to bowl every ball a bouncer to get us, but when you made up your mind to play those pull shots then you can play."
The all-rounder also recalled the last time he came to Sydney stating he was cheering for the team from the stands.
"It means everything to me because the last time I came to Sydney, I was sitting over there in the chairs, cheering up my team because I wasn’t playing for Pakistan, it was a huge moment for me and my family as well. It was lovely to watch everyone on their feet as I was walking out (of the ground).
"[Mohammad] Hafeez talks to every batsman who is going to bat, they [the management] just want every batter to beat their previous highest. We were talking about that, he [Hafeez] asked me about my highest score, which was 80 in First Class games, and he told me to beat that. I never thought I’d beat my personal best, but I just tried and I succeeded."
