England defeated Pakistan’s massive 556, which was bolstered by a blistering century from Agha Salman, by a convincing 96-1 at the end of the first Test’s second day in Multan on Tuesday.
After stand-in captain Ollie Pope was dismissed for a second-ball duck, Joe Root and Zak Crawley steadied the innings with scores of 32 and 64, respectively, at the end of play.
After Shan Masood’s 151 and Abdullah Shafique’s 102 on Monday, Salman’s unbeaten 104 and Saud Shakeel’s 82 boosted Pakistan’s total, making it another difficult day for bowlers.
A leaping Aamer Jamal expertly caught Pope, who was substituting for injured captain Ben Stokes, when he pulled an uppish pull shot off bowler Naseem Shah with one hand at mid-wicket.
After Ben Duckett hurt his left thumb while taking a catch at the conclusion of Pakistan’s innings, he was brought in to begin the batting.
To avoid a follow-on, England need to score another 261 runs, which is very doable on a pitch that doesn’t aid bowlers in any way.
Soon after the tea break, Salman achieved his third century with a single off spinner Jack Leach, building on the solid afternoon performance of Shakeel and Naseem.
Along with reaching 71 during this knock, Salman also reached 1,000 Test runs. With Shaheen Shah Afridi, who scored 26, he quickly put up 85 for the ninth wicket.
Salman finished his 119-ball knock with 10 boundaries and three sixes, despite Chris Woakes’s catch after the third umpire ruled the fielder’s foot had crossed the rope.
Salman expressed his satisfaction in hitting a century and adding to the team’s total, expressing hope that the pitch will pick up speed over the next three days.
“I see this as a result-oriented pitch as both the teams will go for a result. I think cracks will open on this pitch and that will help spinners.”
Salman and Shakeel put on an essential partnership of 57 runs for the seventh wicket before Bashir was well collected by Root at slip for 82. Eight fours were hit by Shakeel.
With a final score of 3-160, Leach emerged as England’s most successful bowler, followed by Gus Atkinson with 2-99. Root, Woakes, and Shoaib Bashir each claimed one wicket.
After trapping Jamal for seven on his debut, pace bowler Brydon Carse bagged 2-74. Before lunch, Harry Brook captured Naseem at leg slip for 33, his maiden Test wicket.
Carse felt England’s bowlers were put to toil on an uncooperative pitch.
“Everyone out there is facing extremely difficult conditions for the past two days,” he remarked. It’s satisfying to be able to take a few wickets today.
“The players deserve praise for their perseverance; it’s been a difficult task.”
The remaining tests are scheduled for October 24-28 in Rawalpindi and October 15–19 in Multan.
