In the opening Test of the three-match series, England handily trounced Pakistan at the Multan Cricket Stadium, winning by an innings and 47 runs. Jack Leach an England bowler had taken four wickets for just thirty runs.
Pakistan was all out for 220 after 96 minutes of play on the final day of the match, having begun at 152-6. The entire England squad bowled well which helped to complement Leach’s outstanding performance.
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Harry Brook and Joe Root forged a legendary tandem that dominated England’s batting. Their 454-run stand broke the previous mark of 411 runs set by Colin Cowdrey and Peter May in 1957 against the West Indies making it the best partnership for England and the fourth-highest partnership in Test cricket history. After Pakistan scored 556 runs in the first innings on a relatively flat pitch in Multan, England took a commanding lead of 267 runs thanks to the partnership between Brook and Root.
The key to the game was the amazing combination between Brook and Root who both scored their best runs ever. The Multan surface offered little assistance to the bowlers which let England’s batsmen seize the initiative.
Pakistan’s final-day struggles were exacerbated by the absence of their spinner Abrar Ahmed from the batting side due to illness. Despite their impressive first-inning total Pakistan was unable to deal with the strong bowling of England, particularly that of Jack Leach.
With two games remaining in the series, England’s lead was now 1-0 thanks to this victory.
Pakistan Playing Xl:
- Shan Masood (Captain)
- Saud Shakeel (Vice-captain)
- Saim Ayub
- Abdullah Shafique
- Babar Azam
- Mohammad Rizwan (Wicket-keeper)
- Salman Ali Agha
- Aamir Jamal
- Shaheen Afridi
- Naseem Shah
- Abrar Ahmad
England Playing Xl:
- Zak Crawley
- Ben Duckett
- Ollie Pope (Captain)
- Joe Root
- Harry Brook
- Jamie Smith
- Chris Woakes
- Gus Atkinson
- Brydon Carse
- Jack Leach
- Shoaib Bashir