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Babar (61*) takes Pakistan to 107/2 after Abrar’s 7-114 helps restrict England to 281 all out

It's a good contest in fairness.

Better balance between bat and ball.
 
Need to tire out Wood. He wont last long bowling at that pace.
 
How are the daylight conditions in Multan?
 
Pakistan must concentrate to bat long because cometh 4th innings you can't chase more than 60 odd
 
Sarfraz should have played as batsman than Agha Sarfu is a good player vs spin
 
Babar is too good in this format. Effortless

Complete contrast to his T20 batting
 
Last time england played tests in pakistan , pakistan had a 150 kph bowler takibg wickets on slower balls��
 
Shafique 14 off 41

Why not just use a tailender who knows how to block to open instead?
 
JibranAnsari said:
Last time england played tests in pakistan , pakistan had a 150 kph bowler takibg wickets on slower balls��
Click to expand...

Shoaib was brilliant in that series. English batters were expecting 150kph thunderbolts and he beautifully deceived them with slower balls, taking pitch out of equation.

That series was one of the high points of that Woolmer-Inzy era.
 
97.3 mph must be the quickest an Englishman ever bowled.

If the speedo is accurate.

Oooh, caught behind? ….. OUT. Bowled Leachy.
 
Getting sick of this guy AS

He is too timid and he will be opening the ODI and T20 batting soon too!
 
Markhor said:
Shoaib was brilliant in that series. English batters were expecting 150kph thunderbolts and he beautifully deceived them with slower balls, taking pitch out of equation.

That series was one of the high points of that Woolmer-Inzy era.
Click to expand...

Woolmer comprehensively out-thought Fletcher.

Might have made a difference to the series score had Simon Jones been fit.
 
Rana said:
Shafique 14 off 41

Why not just use a tailender who knows how to block to open instead?
Click to expand...

Abdullah is a good Test batsman but he was too tentative. Got to keep pushing score along on this surface before you get an unplayable one.
 
Lol, when you think they are building a partnership a wicket falls.
 
But this happens when you just look to defend. Why not play positively against the spinners?
 
hope those idiots who saying that babar wanted a road last time to statpad are eating crow

no other pak batter can touch this guy
 
This pitch will get tougher to bat.

Pakistan have a thin batting line-up so this partnership is crucial.
 
Wow good batting by Saud.. Great chance for him to score big here, no pressure with enough time to do it...
 
Another Sensodyne moment.

Beautifully cringey just like Head and Shoulders and Tapal Tea.

PCB should really find someone who knows about marketing and PR. Cringe stuff like this ^ could be the difference between sealing a TV rights deal or losing it.
 
Eng would have been allout for less than 180 in this pitch had they batted in a traditional way..

The one partnership at the top 80 runs between Duckett and Pope made a big difference
 
It will be easier to bat against the older ball. Important that these two grind it out for next 10-15 overs
 
Jee oye Babar!

Look at Pakistan’s run rate

This is why he is the right man to set the tone for Pakistan at number 3
 
When Babar can bat like this, it’s astounding people can question his credentials based on a few performances.
 
Slap on the face of haters from the king. Long way to go but this will be an innings to remember. Mark it.
 
Saud needs to develop a reverse sweep

It’s become blatantly obvious that he is completely tied down against right arm off spin or the ball turning away from him
 
Good intent from Babar, push on for a ton now. We need at least a 90-100 run cushion after 1st inns.
 
Labuschange and smith score so many 100s at home and pakistani batsmen were missing a home. Hope we get regular cricket at home , so important for the batsmen.
 
Hope Saud and Salman make their opportunities count.

CRIMINAL that Azhar and Shafiq were keeping out these top FC batters for so long.
 
Saud shekeel is very impressive so far... Hopefully he will be follow the footprints of Abdullah Shafiq and Babar Azam
 
Good day of Test cricket, and for Pakistan.

Shame we keep losing overs because of the light. They should switch to a similar aged pink ball and play under lights.
 
Game in balance.

A good contest.

Looking forward to Day 2.
 
I think Faheem Ashraf and Mohd Nawaz vital contributions with bat might decide the fate of this test tomorrow.
 
cerebralrattlesnake said:
hope those idiots who saying that babar wanted a road last time to statpad are eating crow

no other pak batter can touch this guy
Click to expand...

You will find 80% of the posters were getting their knickers in twists with that just because he failed in second inning after scoring a good century in first inning.
 
Rana said:
Saud needs to develop a reverse sweep

It’s become blatantly obvious that he is completely tied down against right arm off spin or the ball turning away from him
Click to expand...

No one in this line up barring Rizwan can play the sweep or the reverse sweep
 
Ahmed216 said:
He needs to play a big one with others providing him enough support
Click to expand...

Want him to play well and score super big and he is yet to score a 200 in test cricket i guess... Hope he doesnt get out early in the morning tomorrow as usual..
 
sweep_shot said:
Pakistan should aim for 500-550. That should bat England out of the game.
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That’s an extremely greedy ask. That sort of total is not possible on this pitch.

400 would be an excellent score.
 
Just replace Zahid with Shadab.. And this is our dream team at rank Turner pitches...
 
I think England is banking on reverse swing hence fast bowlers overs saved for now. Let see how much it reverses tomorrow
 
Abrar Ahmed enjoyed a Test debut to remember and captain Babar Azam fired an unbeaten half-century as Pakistan ended the opening day of the second Test on top against England at Multan.

The "mystery spinner" took the first seven England wickets and threatened to become only the fourth player in Test history to take all 10 in an innings, only for Zahid Mahmood (3-63) to claim the final three as the tourists were bowled out for 281 before tea.

Ben Duckett (63) and Ollie Pope (60) both impressed for England and Mark Wood (36 not out) made a late cameo, while James Anderson (1-4) and Jack Leach (1-44) made early breakthroughs in the Pakistan reply.

Babar Azam finished unbeaten on 61 and added an unbroken 56-run stand for the third wicket with Saud Shakeel (32no), as Pakistan reached 107-2 when bad light brought an early finish to the day's play at 4.45pm local time (11.45am GMT).

Abrar the star on debut for Pakistan
England, batting first after winning the toss, put on 38 for the opening wicket before Abrar bowled Zak Crawley (19) with just the fifth delivery of his Test career.

DRS saved Pope when he was given out lbw by the on-field umpire on 11, with replays showing the ball hitting his glove, with both he and Duckett scoring quickfire half-centuries as England began to accelerate at a similar rate to that witnessed in Rawalpindi last week.

Duckett survived thanks to DRS but was dismissed lbw the same over after missing an attempted sweep shot, with a Pakistan review overturning the on-field decision, while Joe Root (8) was removed in similar fashion in Abrar's next over after initially being given not out.



Pope reached 60 before reverse sweeping straight to backward point and Harry Brook (nine) picked out the man at mid-on soon after, presenting Abrar a five-for before lunch, while England's 180 was the highest ever recorded in the opening session of a Test match.

England started the afternoon session strongly and added 61 for the sixth wicket until Ben Stokes was stunned by a magnificent googly, which turned sharply and bowled him, while Will Jacks was trapped lbw soon after to add to Abrar's wicket tally.

Hopes of Abrar taking all 10 wickets ended when Ollie Robinson picked out the fielder off Mahmood's bowling, having hit the previous ball for four, while Jack Leach was out the next ball after unsuccessfully attempting to reverse sweep Mahmood.

Wood produced some late fireworks with an unbeaten 36 from just 27 deliveries, including eight boundaries, only for Mahmood to end England's innings when he bowled Anderson (seven) in the 52nd over.

Pakistan lost Imam-ul-Haq without scoring as he feathered an Anderson delivery to wicketkeeper Pope, while DRS saw Abdullah Shafique (14) removed after being found to have edged a Leach delivery behind the stumps.

Captain Babar reached 50 from 57 deliveries and rotated the strike with Shakeel, with the pair negotiating England's various spin options under the fading light before play was finally halted for the day.

England - who lead the three-Test series 1-0 - will be searching for wickets early on Saturday morning, while Pakistan - trailing by 174 runs - look to build a first-innings lead.
 
Last edited:
<b>Duckett: We are pretty happy overall</b>

Opening batter Duckett believes Saturday morning's session will be crucial if England are to take hold of the game.

"I'd say it's level at the minute," he told Sky Sports.

"We're a couple of quick wickets away from it being our day, so we'll have to see in the morning. I think we're pretty happy overall. Obviously, today was about assessing those conditions early and as soon as the seamers bowled that slower ball it was clear it was going to spin.

"I think the game is going to move forward pretty quick so I think if we can keep them to around our score, anything less is a bonus, then I think it should be really hard work in the fourth innings."
 
<b>Pakistan spinner Abrar Ahmed, speaking on Sky Sports, via an interpreter:</b>

I will not forget today. I read the wicket when I started to bowl. I bowled cross-seam to start to see what was required. Variations were the key on this pitch.

"Ben Stokes was my favourite wicket. My favourite player!"

<b>England opener Ben Duckett to Sky Sports, on Abrar Ahmed:</b> "I can only talk individually and I had my plans for him. He was basically a leg-spinner who had a good googly. There was no real mystery to it but he bowled beautifully today. I'm sure we'll have our plans second innings but I'm pretty sure it won't be blocking it."
 
Why did Jamie bowl just 2 overs? Wood 4 overs and Robinson 0 overs? You still want to see what the new ball does right?
 
James said:
That’s an extremely greedy ask. That sort of total is not possible on this pitch.

400 would be an excellent score.
Click to expand...

Pitch is not a minefield. A good batting team can score 500-550 here (if they apply themselves).
 
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