England firmly took control of the second Test in the three match series on Saturday as they followed eight quick wickets in the opening session with a steady, if slower than usual, run pile to gain a 281 lead on Pakistan.
Even though England has lost half of their wickets, it seems they will aim to put on a big total for Pakistan to chase before their innings comes to a close. In England’s second innings, Abrar Ahmed continued to create magic on the Multan pitch, picking up another three wickets as he continued his phenomenal performance and complete a 10-wicket haul for the match thus far.
While Zak Crawley went early due to a runout – which should technically go to Ahmed as well for being deeply involved in the dismissal, Ahmed picked up key wickets of Ben Duckett, Will Jacks and Joe Root. Ollie Pope was the fifth wicket to fall, run out by Mohammad Nawaz’s quick arm.
Earlier, Ben Duckett smashed 9 runs off 98 deliveries as England tried to keep up with their aggressive batting plan. After Duckett fell to Ahmed’s low delivery, Harry Brook took up the mantle and scored a well-paced 74 as stumps were called.
Collapse
Another collapse of Pakistan’s middle order saw the national team bowled out for 202 in their first innings in the Multan Test while chasing England’s first innings total of 281. Thanks to some exceptional bowling, England now enjoys a lead of 79 runs in the first innings. Pakistan had resumed their innings on Saturday morning at 107 for two with captain Babar Azam at the crease along with Saud Shakeel. But Ollie Robinson cleaned out Babar Azam, after the skipper had added just 14 to his overnight score of 61.
Shakeel and Muhammad Rizwan then tried to add stability to the side. But Shakeel became Jack Leach’s 100th wicket in Test cricket, heading back to the pavilion for just 63 runs. Rizwan did not last for too long either and left having scored just 10. It then exposed Pakistan’s inexperienced batting line up which folded before England’s bowlers. Six Pakistani batsmen were dismissed without even managing to get into double figures. Joe Root even picked up two wickets in a single over, claiming the scalps of Agha Salman and Mohammad Ali in a spell that saw Pakistan lose three wickets without adding to the score whatsoever.
While, Imam-ul-Haq, Mohammad Nawaz and others from the middle order failed to perform, restricting them to single digit runs only. Six extra runs contributed to the overall score of Pakistan, as three green shirts went back to the pavilion without scoring any runs.
