Watch cricket video highlights of England tour of Pakistan 2024. Second test between Pakistan and England. Venue of the match will be Multan.
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With a characteristic burst of wickets that had eluded them during their miserable run of six Test defeats in a row, Pakistan transformed another day of dominating England batting into a commanding lead in the second Test at Multan. They did this slowly at first, but then with a snap of resolve that justified every one of their seemingly half-baked plans. Despite their best efforts to bowl their opponents out for 366 just after noon, England was struggling at 239 for 6, remaining well behind their opponents by a sizeable 127.
This was despite Ben Duckett’s outstanding fourth Test century, which at one point was quite disrespectful in its domination. England was speeding along to 73 for 0 after 12 overs. Even after Sajid Khan’s ripper through the gate to Ollie Pope had suggested that this repurposed surface was only becoming hotter after seven days of activity, they were still sizzling beautifully at 211 for 2 halfway through the 42nd. However, 18 balls later, their fortress had collapsed to the tune of four wickets for 14 runs.
The turning point in Pakistan’s cricket history came when Sajid removed Joe Root, who is presently at an all-time high in the ICC rankings. If the ricocheting sweep ball that cannoned into Root’s off stump for 34 was a stroke of luck, the rest of the sequence could have been taken straight out of the fever dream that had passed for Pakistan’s pre-Test selection conference. Check if it runs on the board. Check for seam irrelevant. Check: spinners making a turn off the straight with men crowded around the bat.
Sajid produced another cracker with the opening ball of his subsequent over, one that fizzed off Duckett’s outside edge and nestled in Salman Agha’s midriff at slip. He also had the dangerous Harry Brook, who had earlier in his brief stint hammered legspinner Zahid Mahmood for two menacingly emphatic fours, but he was unable to respond to a fizzing offbreak that tore into his stumps from a full length. After Zahid was dismissed once again, Noman Ali, Sajid’s partner fingerspinner, returned and extracted the England captain for 1 from five balls in his first competitive innings since August.
Ali’s second delivery had bit into Ben Stokes’ inside edge and blasted to short leg. Jamie Smith and Brydon Carse persevered till the finish, but as the pitch is now only going in one direction, parity is unquestionably necessary if England is to keep this match within striking distance. Even by Pakistan’s disorganized norms, the way they came back was even more impressive as the remarkable reversal that ended an intriguing day of Test cricket. Their task had been unraveling until that one instant when everything fell into place.
Their problems appeared to have started even before a ball was bowled, as their only seamer, Aamer Jamal, had a hip ache during his plodding 37-run morning session. With Shan Masood having little trust in his legspinner, Zahid, Duckett played with the fingerspinners, using his wide range of sweep possibilities to draw their leg-side fielders in every possible way. He contributed just six pricey overs over three periods. Even though he duly scored a beautiful century from a quick 120 balls (complete with a sweep, of course), it was astonishingly his slowest century in four Test matches.
As a result, he broke the record for the fastest player to score 2000 Test runs from 2293 balls. This may seem like a little accomplishment, but it shows how much he has embraced England’s Bazball credo since being called up for their most recent tour of Pakistan in December 2022. But behind the surface of Duckett’s ferocity, there had been a hint of the contest throughout his innings. An example would be the innings of Zak Crawley. He was far less confident against the spinners because of his liking for pace on the ball.
He let two significant opportunities go before eventually snickering off to a wayward drive outside off for 27, a decision that Noman was able to successfully challenge. After being sent back on a rapid single to backward square, Crawley should have been run out on 20, but Sajid fractured the stumps before the ball reached. Five runs later, he was cleared to walk after being hit on the pads while sweeping, again by Sajid. However, Duckett convinced him to reexamine after demonstrating the missing leg on the ball.
On number 83, Duckett experienced a tremendous moment when Noman, who was now bowling around the wicket to finish that entire range of sweeps, struck his leg stump with the thinnest possible layer of varnish while Duckett spun into a reverse. Twice he was also struck by the ball as it bit and bounced out of the rough, and although he was sad to be involved in the late collapse, it was amazing how effortless he had made it look when things were going well. The chaotic final overs were a far cry from the calmer morning session.
When Pakistan had resumed on a promising 259 for 5, on a surface that shared more similarities with the road that had yielded 1599 runs in the first Test last week despite offering some turn and reverse swing. For the first few exchanges of the day, the pitch appeared to have gained an additional yard of speed due to the colder and more humid weather, which Carse expertly exploited. After being beaten by additional lift and angled into his splice, Mohammad Rizwan had only contributed four runs to his overnight 37.
Smith, behind the stumps, responded brilliantly to hold onto a fast-moving opportunity. It was deserved recognition for Carse’s outstanding performance, which included forcing some improbable life from the surface to secure the crucial wicket of Saud Shakeel on the opening night. Agha then gave the stroke some momentum with four fours through deep third, but Stokes, to his credit, did not fill the hole in the traditional manner; instead, he added a gully to increase the stroke’s risk-reward factor. As expected, Potts added more bounce, and Smith, for the third time in the innings, looked easy on a very clear opportunity.
At 309 for 8, Pakistan looked set for another devastating collapse when Sajid hit a drive on the rise to short cover. However, a crucial partnership of 49 between Jamal and Noman helped push the innings over 350. Despite this, England was quite happy with their day’s performance as Leach completed the innings with his fourth. However, as was predetermined when Masood won the toss, scoring runs would be crucial in this match. Despite Duckett’s incisive reply, England don’t have enough of them at the moment.
