Debutant Kamran Ghulam scored a resolute century on a tricky recycled wicket and carried Pakistan to 259-5 at stumps on Day 1 of the second Test against England on Tuesday. Kamran Ghulam answered Pakistan’s batting problems at No. 4 with a patient 118 off 224 balls. Kamran Ghulam became the 13th Pakistan batsman to score a century on Test debut and is the first to do so against England.
Debutant Kamran Ghulam (118) produced a laudable century to keep Pakistan afloat on the opening day of the second Test against England in Multan. The hosts found themselves in trouble at multiple positions but Kamran Ghulam handled the crisis well. His 149-run stand with Saim Ayub (77) and a partnership of 65 with Mohammad Rizwan (37*) were critical to Pakistan on a day when England threw everything at them in terms of tactics, funky fields and psychological pressure.
Pitch and Toss
Pitch Report : “First time that a back-to-back Test is being played at the same stadium on exactly the same pitch. It’s the same strip that used for the first Test match. What has the groundsmen been doing to try and bring this pitch back to life? A couple of days, he watered it, rolled it and had two giant fans drying the pitch from either end plus the hot sun. Yesterday, he just left it open to the elements, open to the sun to dry. So that means the cracks, that were closed slightly a couple of days ago, have now opened up.
The cracks are quite open, it’s basically how the pitch looked at the end of the first Test match. But the cracks are very solid. They are not really moving too much. So, it’ll play pretty well for a day or two. Team selections are very interesting.
England have hedged their bets, they have gone with a balanced side – three seamers, two spinners, thinking there might just as be as much off the cracks for the seamers and with the reverse swing because of the bare ends and the way the other pitches are being cut. Pakistan are all in on spin, just one specialist seamer, whole host of spinners. They’ll be desperate to win the toss.” reckons Michael Atherton
Toss : Pakistan skipper Shan Masood won the toss and chose to bat with as many as five changes in the playing XI giving debut to middle order batter Kamran Ghulam. England skipper Ben Stokes on his return to playing cricket has made two changes resting Chris Woakes and Gus Atkinson with Matthew Potts in the playing XI.
Day 1 : Morning Session : Saim Ayub, Kamran Ghulam nullify Leach’s twin strikes till lunch
An unbroken 60-run stand between Saim Ayub (40*) and debutant Kamran Ghulam (29*) steadied Pakistan on the first morning of the second Test against England in Multan. Opting to bat on a used surface, the hosts found themselves two down very early due to Jack Leach (2-35) whose wickets were a result of clever bowling and smart tactics. It’s not often that the same surface is used for consecutive Test matches and all eyes were on the Multan surface, especially after the events in Pakistan cricket over the last few days.
From the offset, it was evident that the track wouldn’t have much bounce as England’s seamers barely got the ball to rise even with the new ball. The odd delivery also kept extremely low, implying a sign of things to come. It influenced Ben Stokes to opt to spin inside the first ten overs and the move worked.
Leach got the ball to turn instantly, albeit slow turn, but the fizz off the new ball complimented the turn to undo Abdullah Shafique. The opener played for the angle against an in-drifter that pitched and spun ever so slightly to beat the outside edge, thereby ripping out the off pole.
If Shafique’s dismissal was a mixture of classic left-arm spin bowling and amateurish batting, Shan Masood’s was a setup. Leach bowled from over the wicket with Stokes having three men catching close-in around the mid-wicket area, including a short mid-wicket. Masood’s tendency to play with hard hands brought about his downfall as he jabbed an inside edge that was smartly taken at short mid-wicket. With the score reading 19/2, Pakistan couldn’t have asked for a worse start to the Test match but Ayub and Kamran Ghulam handled things reasonably well.
The left-hander curbed his naturally aggressive instincts and played the ball on merit. It’s not usual for Ayub to get to 40 and have just two boundaries to his name but it showed his determination to bail Pakistan out.
Meanwhile, Kamran Ghulam showed no signs of nerves on his debut and showed his highly rated game against spin by using the crease well. The duo also used their feet well to stitch a useful partnership going for the home side. They have had the occasional moment of indecision due to the uneven bounce and unpredictable pace of the pitch, but runs haven’t been impossible to make. The next two sessions could tell a detailed story on the nature of this ‘used’ pitch as the older softer ball was easier to score in the first Test.
The danger for Pakistan, however, may yet come from the weapons that they won’t be able to deploy. Despite two early wickets for Jack Leach, who has now claimed nine in three innings on this surface to reassert his status as England’s senior spinner, their most pronounced threat came through a mid-afternoon spell of reverse-swing, excellently harnessed by a three-pronged seam attack.
Uniquely, all three hail from Durham, among them Ben Stokes, who was back to lead the team for the first time since his hamstring tear in August. In opting to ditch both Shaheen Shah Afridi and Naseem Shah for this contest, much will be resting on their lone quick, Aamer Jamal, if Pakistan hope to utilize similar skills.
All such considerations can wait for now, thanks to the efforts of Kamran Ghulam, who – at the age of 29 – was the second oldest Pakistani to record a debut century. He achieved the feat with a gleeful swing through the leg-side off Joe Root, after an anxious wait in the 90s that had encompassed the evening drinks break.
A few more moments of delay could not perturb him, however, after more than a decade of service in Pakistan’s Quaid-e-Azam Trophy, in which time he might have assumed that his haul of more than 4500 runs at 49 would forever be overlooked.
His innings had begun at 19 for 2 in the tenth over, after Leach – thrown the ball early after Stokes’ quick assessment of the surface – had become the first England spinner to strike twice so early in a Test match since Johnny Briggs in 1889. His impact threatened another meltdown to match Pakistan’s fourth-evening collapse in the first Test, but Kamran Ghulam proved his mettle from the outset, showcasing his familiarity with the arid conditions and his faith in the methods that had finally got him noticed.
His first boundary was a composed launch for six back over Leach’s head, and in easing through to his first half-century from 104 balls, he recorded a milestone that had eluded his more illustrious compatriot, Babar Azam, in the 18 out-of-form innings that had resulted in his omission.
Kamran Ghulam had faced just two deliveries of fast bowling in his first 120, however, when Stokes brought himself into the attack midway through the afternoon, and the challenge instantly went up a notch. In his first over, Stokes found a fat edge that flew at a catchable height through the vacant slip cordon, and when a second edge fell short soon afterwards, Root found himself donning a helmet four yards from the bat in a bid to make any further chance count.
The breakthrough, however, arrived at the other end. Ayub’s reputation had suffered in this series, largely as a consequence of his hopelessly misfiring opening partnership with Abdullah Shafique, which at least reached double-figures for the first time in nine innings. It didn’t get much further, however, as Leach bowled Shafique for 7 to reduce Pakistan to 15 for 1, before Shan Masood clipped on the up to Zak Crawley at midwicket for 3.
Day 1 : Post Lunch Session: England strike late after Saim Ayub-Kamran Ghulam century stand
In isolation, however, Ayub has been a qualified success at the top of Pakistan’s order, and this was his third half-century in four first innings, following his twin fifties against Bangladesh last month. But, with tea approaching, and England beginning to make the ball talk, Matthew Potts threatened his outside edge with a diet of hooping outswingers from over the wicket, before Stokes pouched a firm push through the line at a very straight silly mid-off (168 for 3).
The grind was on for Pakistan in the afternoon session on Day 1 of the second Test against England in Multan. Saim Ayub (77) and Kamran Ghulam (75*) carried on from where they left off in the morning session with a measured partnership. While spin continued to play a part in England’s plans, the scoring rate for Pakistan increased considerably post-lunch as they scored 94 runs in the 28 overs bowled, scoring at 3.36 runs-per-over as opposed to the run rate of 2.72 in the morning session. Pakistan broke for Tea at 173 for 3.
Jack Leach and Shoaib Bashir did continue to get purchase from the surface but the extreme slowness of the deck allowed both batters to thrive. Also, the older softer ball appeared easier to negotiate although stats showed the afternoon session to have a greater degree of turn than in the morning. Ayub was compact in defence and appeared solid in his gameplay, curbing his naturally aggressive style of play to adapt to the conditions and format. He still put the bad balls away but the idea was to play the ball on merit than to take the bowling on.
Kamran Ghulam, meanwhile, settled in nicely and it helped him that a buffet of spin was served to him right from the start of his innings. The debutant’s excellence against spin is well-documented in Pakistan’s domestic circuit and Kamran Ghulam translated that beautifully to his maiden Test innings as he motored past fifty with aplomb.
Both batters looked settled and appeared to be in auto pilot mode until England started to find reverse swing. Bowling an overdose of their spinners including the part-time option of Joe Root meant that the pacers were relatively fresh.
A wonderful exponent of reverse swing himself, Ben Stokes took the opportunity to bowl his first spell of the game and instantly caused trouble, particularly to Ghulam. There were a few edges found but mostly landed short of the cordon while one genuine edge was found with no slips in place. Matthew Potts came on from the other end and although Pakistan managed a few boundaries during this phase, both batters had their nervy moments. England eventually broke through moments before the tea break through Potts.
Having operated with funky fields and tactics as always, Stokes’ idea to lure Ayub into off-side drives paid dividends as the left-hander chipped one to silly mid-off. It was a soft dismissal to what was otherwise a largely solid innings. The surface hasn’t deteriorated till now but that looks inevitable with the number of cracks on it and with reverse swing prevalent, an interesting final session beckons.
Day 1 : Afternoon Session : Kamran Ghulam’s debut ton keeps England at bay
After tea, Brydon Carse, energetic as ever, roughed up Saud Shakeel with an excellent short ball, then found his edge for 4 with an even better 140kph/87mph delivery that fizzed through to Jamie Smith behind the stumps. And England’s position could have been stronger still had Ben Duckett clung on to a loose slap from Kamran Ghulam, on 79, as he chose to take the attack to the returning Leach and almost paid the price at mid-on.
The value of Stokes’ economy with his seamers throughout a morning session was brought to bear in the evening, with Carse helping to keep Rizwan under the cost for 19 deliveries without scoring before Potts took over and so nearly landed an innings-altering blow. His first delivery to Rizwan, on 6 at the time, zipped past the outside edge and into Smith’s gloves, but England declined to use a review – even though replays showed that the ball had grazed the splice of his bat.
England’s endeavors were worthy of another breakthrough before the close, and though he had once again been the weaker link in the attack, Bashir obliged with a critical strike late in the day. Armed with the second new ball, he skidded a good-length delivery past Kamran Ghulam’s tired charge, and clipped the top of leg to prize a critical opening that could yet make the difference in Pakistan’s quest for a serviceable first innings.
There has been precious little for Pakistan cricket to cheer in recent months, but on the opening day of the second Test in Multan, Kamran Ghulam provided a moment of unbridled joy as he brought up a gutsy century in his maiden Test innings, to carry the fight for his embattled team.
Though he fell late in the day for 118, bowled by Shoaib Bashir as he looked to stay proactive with the close of play looming, Kamran Ghulam’s debut efforts helped to lift Pakistan to 259 for 5 – scarcely riches by the standards that England were dishing up on this very same surface last week, but the beginnings of a score nonetheless.
Kamran Ghulam looked set to bat the day out before a sudden rush of blood led to his stumps being rattled during the closing stages of play, giving Shoaib Bashir his first wicket of the game. It was an otherwise largely flawless display against spin from Kamran Ghulam, rated highly for his expertise against slow bowling.
Therefore, England played into his hands by feeding him an overdose of spin in the first 100-odd deliveries that he faced. Against the quicker men, Kamran Ghulam looked tentative, especially during the second half of the day when England managed to extract reverse swing.
The final session didn’t start well for Pakistan as they lost Saud Shakeel cheaply against the reversing ball and it was a period that threatened a collapse. However, Kamran Ghulam and Rizwan weathered the storm, albeit with a lot of luck and shepherded Pakistan through to the second new ball.
The fresh cherry didn’t really have a lot of movement on offer, forcing Ben Stokes to go back to spin quickly but the move worked as Bashir castled Kamran Ghulam with a tempter. The dismissal summarized Pakistan’s day as they never really managed to get away from England.
The used pitch came in for a lot of attention but batting wasn’t impossible as Kamran Ghulam and Ayub showed. Their partnership was paramount for the hosts, given that Jack Leach had struck twice in the first hour of play in the morning. The new ball and the mild moisture allowed the left-arm spinner to get some bite off the pitch.
It helped Leach to castle Abdullah Shafique who played down the wrong line while a classic setup of Shan Masood saw the Pakistan skipper chip one to short mid-wicket. Pakistan would have had a deja vu feel of the previous game but those fears quickly went away as Ayub and Kamran Ghulam got going.
The two batters batted with a lot of gumption and resolve to blunt England’s bowlers on a pitch that did have variable bounce to contend with. While survival wasn’t impossible, the extreme slowness of the track and low bounce meant that strokeplay wasn’t straightforward. There was spin on offer too and statistically, it spun a lot more today than it did in the entire first Test match.
However, it was slow turn and it meant that the batters could adjust to it more often than not. England did well to stay disciplined and Stokes punted with his typical brand of innovative fields.
While Ayub and Kamran Ghulam put on commendable performances, both were guilty of soft dismissals at a time when Pakistan would have wanted them to kick on. Considering that this surface has now been used for six days, the road ahead is unpredictable and first innings runs are hence more significant than usual.
For England, Brydon Carse looked the most threatening bowler although he picked up just a solitary wicket. His reverse swinging spell with Stokes was the most potent period for England with the ball on a day when they otherwise had to toil hard.
Kamran Ghulam became the second Pakistan player after Saleem Malik to score a Test century on debut while batting at number four. Malik had achieved the feat on his debut while playing against Sri Lanka in 1982 at the National Stadium in Karachi.
Day 2 Road Ahead for Pakistan and England
An absorbing day of Test cricket. On a used pitch (the same one that was used for the 1st Test), Pakistan opted to bat. Stokes turned to spin after five overs and Leach removed the two centurions from the opening Test quickly. Cleaned up Abdullah Shafique with a beauty and had Masood caught at short midwicket. At 19/2 and inside the first hour of the match, debutant Kamran Ghulam joined hands with Saim Ayub to steady the ship.
The former was slightly nervous at the start of his innings but gained confidence with time. Ayub, on the other hand, batted conservatively and the duo stitched a 149-run partnership for the third wicket. The pacers got the ball to reverse before tea, kept a tight lid on the scoring rate and Ayub perished at the stroke of the break as he chipped one straight to short mid-off. Carse struck after the tea as he induced the outside edge of Saud Shakeel.
Things could have gone worse for Pakistan but fortune went their way today. Ghulam was dropped on 79 by Duckett off Leach’s bowling and Rizwan got a life on 6 as England didn’t review a caught behind call. The debutant remained calm, fought hard and brought up his century. Batting didn’t seem too tough and England took the second new ball straightaway. Rizwan survived a few close shaves but Ghulam got cleaned up by Bashir on 118.
Despite Pakistan’s experience in the first Test, when their first-innings 556 ended up on the wrong side of an innings defeat, Kamran Ghulam’s resolute efforts – allied to a career-best 77 from Saim Ayub and an atypically entrenched 37 not out from Mohammad Rizwan – kept Pakistan on course for the sort of 300-plus score that could yet be competitive if their spin-heavy attack can take advantage of a pitch that had been heavily watered and dried with industrial fans in the four-day turnaround between Tests.
Salman and Rizwan ensured no further setbacks until the close of play as they finished the day on 259/5. England toiled hard and picked five wickets on a track that has low bounce and a bit of turn, nothing extravagant so far. Unlike the first Test, there’s been a good contest between bat and ball. How long will it take for those cracks to open up for which Pakistan have stacked their XI with spinners.