Zak Crawley and Joe Root revived the first innings of England after an early departure of skipper Ollie Pope, guiding their team to score 96 runs in reply to Pakistan’s 556 as day two play of the first Test was concluded at the Multan Cricket Stadium on Tuesday. Naseem Shah got his first over and struck to send English skipper Pope to the pavilion.
After falling of first wicket to Crawley, he along with Root took the charge and smashed 64 runs off 64 balls. Root stayed on the crease with 32 off 54 balls to lead his side scoring 96/1 till the closure of the day two play. The visitors are trial by 460 runs.
Earlier, an unbeaten ton by Salman Ali Agha and 82 by Saud Shakeel guided Pakistan to 556 runs against England at the close of the first innings in 149 overs on the second day of the first Test here at the Multan Cricket Stadium on Tuesday. Abrar Ahmed was caught at 3 by Duckett, which ended the innings, while Salman Ali Agha remained not out after making 104 runs off 119 balls.
Day two started off with Pakistan at 328/4, with Shakeel and Naseem Shah on the crease. Shah, 33, was sent off the crease when Harry Brook caught the ball in the 105.4 over.
Then an aggressive right-arm fast bowler denied England any morning breakthrough amidst blows on the helmet and the hand used for bowling as he smacked three sixes. It was the 82-ball defiance of Shakeel that finally came to an end as he tickled Brydon Carse to Harry Brook at leg slip to give the debutant seamer his maiden test wicket.
Batting for a probable century, Shakeel got caught by Joe Root after scoring 82 runs off 177 deliveries at 125.2 overs. The next man in, Mohammad Rizwan, fell for a 12-ball duck, stepping out against Jack Leach and spooning to Chris Woakes at mid-off. The Men in Green at 549-9 saw Shaheen Shah Afridi heading to the pavilion after making 26 off 49 balls.
Bowling first, England sent Gus Atkinson and Brydon Carse on its behalf with two wickets each and Chris Woakes and Shoaib Bashir who grabbed one wicket each. Taking the most wickets, Jack Leach sent three players to the pavilion on Tuesday. The first of three-match series is going on at the Multan Cricket Stadium and is a part of the ICC World Test Championship 2023-25.