In a remarkable display of cricket, England clinched a resounding victory over Pakistan by an innings and 47 runs in Multan on Friday. After a stellar performance that earned him the player of the match award, England’s Harry Brook shared his thoughts on the challenges faced during the Test match. Brook emphasized the difficulties of batting in the intense heat, saying, “Enjoyed it a lot. It was tough out there in the heat. We were just batting for as long as possible, to be honest.” During a crucial lunch break, the team discussed their strategy for the second half of the day.

“We had a chat at lunchtime, knew we were going to be batting out there for a little period after lunch. Just have to try and enjoy batting, build a partnership, and keep trying to rotate strike–put the bowlers under pressure,” he explained in the post-match presentation.

Brook also highlighted the importance of hydration and nutrition in maintaining energy levels.

“I was taking as much fluid on board as possible, and the energy gels, and eating as well. It was tough, but that was a good surface to cash in on. Hopefully, many more to come,” he added.

Looking ahead, Brook noted that the pressure on the Pakistani team is only going to increase following their defeat. He pointed out that the squad announced was only for the first Test, and it will be interesting to see how they approach the next two matches.

“Their main bowlers are down on pace, while Babar is having a horrendous run as he’s gone without a fifty in 18 innings. Abrar, the lone spinner, also went wicketless and is now unwell,” he remarked.

Analyzing the conditions, Brook acknowledged that the pitch only offered assistance when the ball was new.

“The only time that the pitch offered something was when the ball was hard and new, and they made the most of that phase, reducing Pakistan to 82/6 as the likes of Carse and Atkinson extracted a bit of variable movement from the cracks,” he said.

He added that the morning play further reinforced the difficulties faced by the bowlers as the ball softened.

“Whatever play we had this morning only reinforced how difficult it was for the bowlers once the ball got softer. Pakistan would be kicking themselves for some of the shots they played yesterday. If only they had made a better fist of it in the first 20-25 overs, the draw would still have been there for the taking,” Brook concluded.

Coming to the match, Pakistan etched an unwanted record in Test history, becoming the only team to lose by an innings after scoring 500 in their first innings. England wrapped up the game inside the morning session on day five, marking their second innings victory in Asia.

By the end of day four, Pakistan was struggling at 152/6. Despite valiant efforts from Salman Agha, who scored 63, and Aamer Jamal, who remained unbeaten on 55, Pakistan could not save the Test. The duo batted through most of the fifth day but ultimately fell short.

Salman Agha, who had scored a brisk century in the first innings, showed resilience under pressure. He managed a fifty in the second innings, demonstrating his ability to adapt to different match situations. On the other end, Jamal bravely faced Brydon Carse’s short-ball barrage, even taking a blow to the helmet but continued to fight, reaching his second Test fifty.

The seventh-wicket partnership between Salman and Jamal added 109 runs, giving Pakistan a glimmer of hope. However, Leach broke through, trapping Salman with his fourth ball. Shaheen Afridi (10), the next man in, briefly counterattacked but was caught and bowled by Leach.

After Salman’s dismissal, Naseem Shah (6) was stumped by Jamie Smith off Leach’s delivery, and with Abrar Ahmed unable to bat, Pakistan was all out for 220. Gus Atkinson and Brydon Carse each took two wickets, while Chris Woakes managed one.

England’s first innings score of 823/7 declared proved insurmountable for Pakistan.Pakistan’s captain, Shan Masood, faced criticism as his team suffered yet another defeat, marking his sixth consecutive loss as captain. This series of losses includes three in Australia, a home defeat by Bangladesh, and now, a defeat against England.

Masood surpassed Javed Burki’s record of three consecutive defeats, making it a challenging period for Pakistan under his leadership.

Pakistan captain Shan Masood still could not find his first win under his belt, so far he has led Pakistan in six Tests, where they have lost all the games.

Under his captaincy, they have lost all the three matches in Australia, after that they were stunned by Bangladesh at home. Now, a defeat against England.England’s comprehensive win in Multan, spearheaded by Leach’s exceptional bowling, underscores their dominance and Pakistan’s ongoing struggles.

Pakistan stare at another crushing defeat, with England now in the driving seat in the Multan Test. Despite scoring a mammoth 556 in the first innings, Pakistan still have a mountain to climb after England piled 823/7d to take a huge lead in the first innings. Harry Brook and Joe Root put on 454, the highest partnership for the 4th wicket in the history of Test cricket. Brook (317) and Root (262) enjoyed a run-feast on a flat Multan stadium pitch, both knocking career-best scores.

On the other hand, the Pakistan bowlers scripted an unwanted record after Brook and Root scripted the fourth biggest partnership in Test cricket.

For the first time in 20 years and only for the second time in the 147-year rich history of Test cricket, as many as six bowlers conceded more than 100 runs in an inning.

The sextet of Shaheen Afridi, Naseem Shah, Aamer Jamal, Saim Ayub, Abrar Ali and Salman Ali Agha has now joined former Zimbabwe stars Douglas Hondo, Tinashe Panyangara, Tawanda Mupariwa, Elton Chigumbura and Stuart Matsikenyeri and Mluleki Nkala, who all conceded 100 or more in the Bulawayo Test against Sri Lanka in 2004.

Meanwhile, England resumed on 492-3 on Day 4 and looked for quick runs, which Root and Brook provided despite Pakistan’s defensive leg-side bowling, adding 166 runs in 29 overs in the session.

Root’s previous best of 254 was also against Pakistan at Manchester in 2016.

Brook was equally dominant, hitting 20 boundaries and a six in his maiden Test double hundred, which came off just 245 balls. 

His previous best was 186, scored against New Zealand at Wellington last year.

Pakistan’s only chance came in the first hour when Root, on 186, failed to keep down a pull shot off Shah but Babar Azam shelled the regulation chance at mid-wicket.

Root took full advantage and with a single off spinner Agha Salman completed his sixth Test double-century, which came in 517 minutes off 305 balls.

Pakistan were without frontline spinner Abrar Ahmed who suffered a fever and did not take the field on Thursday.

(With AFP Inputs)

Pakistan vs England 1st Test Day 4, Live Updates© AFP

Pakistan vs England Live Score 1st Test Day 3© AFP

Pakistan vs England 1st Test Day 1, Live Score Updates© AFP

Pakistan Test captain Shan Masood said that they have maintained consistency in the selection after announcing the playing 11 for the first Test against England in Multan beginning from Monday. For the first Test of the three-match series, the pace trio of Shaheen Shah Afridi, Naseem Shah and Aamer Jamal have returned to Pakistan’s side. Pakistan’s last Test victory on home soil came against South Africa in Rawalpindi in February 2021. Since then, Pakistan have endured a dry spell, losing six matches and drawing four – their longest winless run since earning Test status in 1952.

“There is a lot of hurt within the players. 2024 has not been a good year for Pakistan cricket all over and we like to see our fans happy. After religion cricket comes next, everyone is clued up on how the cricket team is doing so we are hurt. The answer is to be positive. We let the past go. We have tried to maintain consistency in selection. We haven’t had any chopping and changing because we have lost a few games. We believe in this set of players and with Jason Gillespie we wanted to create a squad mentality. The players are being backed to turn things around,” Masood said at the press conference.

Since that 2021 victory, Pakistan have played 23 Tests overall, securing just eight wins – two each against Zimbabwe and Bangladesh, three against Sri Lanka, and one against the West Indies. They’ve suffered 11 defeats, including four to Australia, one each to Sri Lanka and the West Indies, three to England and two to Bangladesh. The remaining four Tests, all drawn, were against Australia and New Zealand.

“Multan is new territory for us. When we played Bangladesh in Rawalpindi, we had played a lot of cricket there so we knew how the pitch would play if you left grass on it. It was a bit tricky against Bangladesh for batsmen. Here we are leaving it to the groundsman. We would like one final look tomorrow, hence why we have tried to cover bases and have three seamers and two spinners like England. We have a bit of depth in batting as well,” the Pakistan captain said.

Masood is aware of England’s Bazball threat and lauded them for being creative on the field.

“It (Bazball) has had an effect on the world. Sometimes we get too caught up in set ways of doing things. So the best thing England has done is realise there are other perspectives and things that might suit you. The key is to find new ways of doing things. That is how the world has always progressed and cricket is no different. It is like life. You try and evolve and create new ways and England have been pioneers in that,” Masood said.

Pakistan playing 11 for 1st Test: Saim Ayub, Abdullah Shafique, Shan Masood (c), Babar Azam, Saud Shakeel, Mohammad Rizwan (wk), Salman Ali Agha, Aamer Jamal, Shaheen Afridi, Naseem Shah, Abrar Ahmed.