Debutant Kamran Ghulam hit a century for Pakistan on day one of the second Test to frustrate England’s wholehearted endeavour.
The home side came into the contest reeling from losing the first Test by an innings last week despite making 556 in their first knock, a result which prompted star trio Babar Azam, Shaheen Shah Afraid and Naseem Shah to be rested for the rest of the series.
Ghulam was Babar’s replacement and he impressed immediately with a superb 118 after England, and specifically Jack Leach, had made early inroads.
Pakistan ended the day on 259 for five – one of the rare occasions when both sides will be happy with their day’s work.
Stumps on Day 1 ✅
Good work out there, lads 👊 pic.twitter.com/GDtejDro1f
— England Cricket (@englandcricket) October 15, 2024
England’s all-Durham pace attack of Matthew Potts, Brydon Carse and captain Ben Stokes toiled diligently but it was Leach who looked the most threatening on the same Multan pitch that was used last week.
And although it appears to have lost its bounce, the surface did appear more conducive to spin.
Leach snared Abdullah Shafique and captain Shan Masood – the former with a beauty that rattled the batter’s off-stump – to leave Pakistan in trouble on 19 for two.
Ghulam and opener Saim Ayub led the fightback with a brilliant third-wicket partnership of 149 that played the hosts back into the game.
Despite the hot and sticky conditions, England continued to persevere with their seamers managing to engineer some reverse swing that was to prove useful.
Potts, as ever, ran in hard and got his reward when Ayub, having made his third half-century in four Test innings, pushed one straight to Stokes at silly mid-off for a well-made 77.
Saud Shakeel went shortly after the tea break, Carse producing a rare delivery that flared off the pitch and Jamie Smith took a smart catch behind the wicket.
Ghulam had kept plugging away at the other end and brought up his century with a hoik through the leg-side off part-timer Joe Root. It was a nice moment for the 29-year-old who celebrated with gusto.
He continued to play positively even as the day edged towards the close but it was to prove his undoing as, with a little more than five overs to go, he attempted to come down the pitch to Shoaib Bashir but missed the ball and turned to see it crash into the stumps.
