Pakistan vs England: The first day of the opening Test-Match between Pakistan and England came to an exciting end with the Shaheens posting a score of 328-4 on the board.
Thanks to skipper Shan Masood’s century on the first day of play at the Multan Cricket Stadium, the Green Shirts rebounded excellently in the first Test against England on Monday.
Having won the toss and chosen to bat first, the national team was dealt an early setback when opener Saim Ayub (4) was caught behind off the bowling of Gus Atkinson.
However, captain Shan Masood and opening batter Abdullah Shafique stitched a partnership of 114 runs for the 2nd wicket to help their team reach a score of 122-1 at lunch.
The 1st day of the 1st test ended with Pakistan putting up a score of 328-4 on the board with the duo of Naseem Shah (0 runs in 3 deliveries) and Saud Shakeel (35* runs in 72 balls) unbeaten at the crease.
The ongoing three-match Test-Series between Pakistan and England is a part of ICC’s WTC (World Test Championship) 2023-2025 cycle.
Earlier in the game, Shan was adjudged LBW by the umpire off the bowling of debutant pacer Brydon Carse. However, the Pakistani skipper took a review immediately and his decision payed off as the verdict got overturned as replays showed that the ball had pitched outside the leg-stump.
Shan then ran two quick runs and brought up his half-century in 43 deliveries.
Opener Abdullah Shafique was given a lifeline when he was batting on 35 runs as he opted to take a risky-single and Ollie Pope, the stand-in skipper of England, missed the stumps by a very small margin with his direct throw.
Despite missing the run-out opportunity, Pope made up for it as he caught the catch of Shafique in the 60th over off Atkinson as the opener walked back to the pavilion after scoring 102 runs in 184 deliveries, which included 10 fours and two huge maximums.
Pakistan’s other opener Saim Ayub didn’t have a good outing with the bat as he made just four runs and got out early.
Moreover, the best-batter of the day, Shan Masood was dismissed by Jack Leach in the 63rd over, after scoring 151 runs in 177 deliveries, with the help of 13 fours and two maximums.
Babar Azam, batting at number four, came on the crease with the motive of scoring 50+ runs but ended up scoring just 30 runs in 71 deliveries as Chris Woakes got the better of him by catching him plumb in front of the stumps.
The duo of Jack Leach and Chris Woakes picked up a wicket each while fast-bowling All Rounder Gus Atkinson dismissed two batters.
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For more information, visit the official websites of Pakistan Cricket and England Cricket.
