Pakistan are currently facing off against England in the first of the three-match Test series in Multan. On a placid wicket which had nothing in it for the bowlers, Pakistan scored 556 runs in the first innings.
Meanwhile, England were rocked back early in their innings. With Ben Duckett, the regular opener suffering an injury, England’s stand-in captain, Ollie Pope decided to open the innings with Zak Crawley. However, he was dismissed for just a two-ball duck.
Naseem Shah bowled a back-of-a-length-delivery outside off and Pope hanged back on the Backfoot to work it on the leg side. It looked like Pope had perfectly timed his pull shot. However, Aamir Jamal jumped to his right and took a sensational catch. The wicket was scalped due to the individual brilliance of Jamal.
PAK vs ENG: Pakistan scored 556 runs in their first innings
Coming to Pakistan’s innings, Abdullah Shafique scored a century, while captain Shan Masood, played a sensational knock of 151 runs. Babar Azam failed to deliver yet again as he was dismissed for just 30 runs.
Saud Shakeel scored 82 runs, while Agha Salman smashed a century. At the time of writing, England are at 77 runs for the loss of one wicket. Zak Crawley is at the crease along with Joe Root.
Pakistan’s cricket team, recently, faced an unexpected setback when they lost a Test series 2-0 at home against Bangladesh. It was a scenario that shook the cricketing community given Pakistan’s historical dominance over Bangladesh in Test cricket.
This series loss wasn’t just about the matches. The loss displayed deeper issues within the team. The batting, which has often been the issue, crumbled under pressure. There were collapses which proved how much of a disarray the batters are in. Bowling, usually Pakistan’s forte, lacked the usual sting. They failed to make it count and the Men In Green suffered a humiliating series defeat at home.
