Skipper Shan Masood and opener Abdullah Shafique both cracked centuries as Pakistan scored an impressive 328-4 on the opening day of the first Test against England in Multan on Monday. Shan Masood‘s brilliant 151 was his first hundred for four years, while Shafique also returned to form with 102 as the pair put on a solid 253-run stand for the second wicket after Pakistan won the toss and batted.
England, led by Ollie Pope in the absence of the injured Ben Stokes, briefly fought back when they removed both Shan Masood and Shafique in the space of just two runs in the third session. The visitors took the second new ball at 308-3 and dismissed Babar Azam, trapped leg-before by fast bowler Chris Woakes for 30. Saud Shakeel was unbeaten on 35 at the close of play with nightwatchman Naseem Shah yet to score.
Pitch and Toss
Pitch Report : The last Test played here was Pakistan v England, and Abrar got a 11-fer. But it’s a different look to the pitch this time. There’s a lot of grass, plenty of grass. But if you have a closer look, it’s still quite dry. That means the grass is there to help the pitch remain intact. There might be seam, swing up front. But I reckon spinners will have a role to play.
Pakistan skipper Shan Masood won the toss and chose to bat on the pitch conducive for batting. England skipper Ollie Pope bowling first handed debut to Brydon Carse in red ball cricket.
Day 1 : Morning Session : Shan Masood, Shafique lead Pakistan’s attacking start
An attacking passage of play, led by half-centuries from Shan Masood and Abdullah Shafique, helped Pakistan to 122 for 1 at Lunch on the opening day in Multan. There was a bit of help for the pacers early on, but barring the dismissal of Saim Ayub, they couldn’t cause any damage in the morning session
Electing to bat, Pakistan lost Ayub in the fourth over of the innings, strangled down the leg by Gus Atkinson. Pakistan’s batters struggled early on, at times getting beaten, at times getting hit on the pads, at times finding the outside edge of the bat. However, once the movement subsided a bit, Shafique punched the ball around gaps neatly, even picking three successive 3s off Chris Woakes after the first half an hour of play.
Shan Masood took time to settle in, and continued keeping the fielders interested with numerous edges that ran away in empty spaces. He was even pinged on the pads by Brydon Carse and declared leg before, a decision he managed to get overturned through a review. However, after the drinks break, when spin was introduced, Shan Masood took the attack to Shoaib Bashir, stepping out against the offspinner. A flurry of boundaries followed as Shan Masood raced away to his half-century in only 43 balls, his fastest in Test cricket.
Shafique, who was the more conservative of the two, also joined in soon after. In the penultimate over before Lunch, he first shimmied down the track against Bashir. And then stayed behind and cut – both balls racing away for boundaries. He then finished the over by going down the track and lofting the office over long on for a six to bring up his half-century.
Day 1 : Post Lunch Session : Shan Masood, Shafique’s attack puts England on the backfoot after lunch
Led by Shan Masood’s maiden century as captain, and an able foil provided by Abdullah Shafique, Pakistan stretched their innings to 233 for 1 in the wicketless post-Lunch session on the opening day against England in Multan on Day 1. The duo extended their second-wicket partnership to 225 as the English bowlers struggled to make inroads on a flat surface.
With an aggressive approach, Pakistan continued to mete out a treatment that England batters had on their previous tour to the country. English bowlers couldn’t find any answers on a surface which didn’t have much aid for them after the first hour of the day.
The English bowlers attempted to go for the short-ball attack early in the second session and nearly had a breakthrough in the first over when Shafique miscued a pull. But that wasn’t to deter the Pakistani duo for long. While Jack Leach kept flighting the ball from one end, Carse continued his short-ball attack from the other. Both Shafique and Shan Masood took toll of the poorly directed deliveries and were willing to play the pull shot.
Even Gus Atkinson, on his return to attack, couldn’t trouble them with his quicker short deliveries and boundaries continued to flow in that process. Masood, who continued to be the quicker of the two, pulled Atkinson for a six and then charged down against Leach to hammer the spinner as well over the ropes. He brought up his first Test century in four years with a nudge for a single.
As the scoreboard kept moving forward at a quick pace, England took a punt with a review when Shan Masood was hit on the pads while missing a sweep off Shoaib Bashir. But it was turned down. Towards the end of the session, the duo changed their plans and relied on quick singles and twos to march on.
Earlier in the day, Pakistan had won the toss and elected to bat. Saim Ayub was strangled down the leg side and caught in the fourth over. But that happened to be the only success of the morning session for England as Shan Masood’s attack soon put them on the backfoot. Left-hander Shan Masood played through the covers, Shafique towards mid-wicket. Both attacked Bashir and were untroubled by England’s bouncers. For Shafique it was a first Test hundred since July 2023; for Shan Masood, a first in four years.
Day 1 : Afternoon Session : Shan Masood, Shafique pile on the runs on Day 1 in Multan
Centuries by Shan Masood (151) and Abdullah Shafique (102) took Pakistan to 298 for 3 on Day 1 of the first Test in Multan. The batting duo registered a 253-run partnership for the second wicket, the second highest overall partnership at the ground. On a flat deck, the assistance for the England bowlers lasted for only the first hour of the day’s play as the batters took full toll of the favorable conditions.
It was Shan Masood’s first Test hundred since he took over as captain of Pakistan. Shan Masood and Shafique scored briskly at 4.5 runs per over, the third highest run rate for a 200-plus partnership for Pakistan.
Shafique came out to bat on 94 after the Tea break and smashed a six down the ground off left-arm spinner Jack Leach to get to his three-figure milestone. Shan Masood, who scored his 100 at almost a run-a-ball, continued his attacking intent against Brydon Carse and Leach, clinching boundaries. Shan Masood then brought up his 150 with a pull to the deep on the onside.
Incoming batter Babar Azam endured a lucky escape as he almost dragged a short delivery off Atkinson onto the stumps. But that glimmer of hope vanished soon after as Saud Shakeel took advantage of the favorable match-up of Leach with three boundaries in an over. The duo continued to find the occasional boundary after the drinks break and comfortably rotated strike to keep the scoreboard ticking.
Once England took the second new ball, Atkinson was greeted by Babar with a four, caressing it through extra-cover. But the former skipper’s wretched Test form continued as he was trapped in front of the stumps by Chris Woakes in the penultimate over of the day, taking a review back with him in the process.
Earlier during the day, Pakistan elected to bat first but were dealt an early blow as Saim Ayub was strangled down the legside off Atkinson. After Shan Masood and Shafique survived a spell of getting beaten and hit on the pads with the former overturning an LBW decision against him, they took advantage of the conditions as both scored half-centuries by the Lunch interval. Pakistan continued to pile on the runs in a faultless second session as they scored 101 runs for the loss of no wickets which saw their skipper bring up his century.
Shan Masood, the Pakistan captain, in his sixth Test being in charge of the side, slammed his first century as skipper as the hosts took control of the series opener against England in Multan on Monday, October 7. Masood played a marathon knock of 151 runs, his first century in Tests in four years as Pakistan put England on the backfoot early on on the opening day of the first Test. Masood’s knock helped him surpass the likes of Harry Brook and Yashaswi Jaiswal on the list of leading run-getters in World Test Championship (WTC) history.
Shan Masood (1,241) surpassed the likes of Devon Conway (1,142), Aiden Markram (1,152), Najmul Hossain Shanto (1,179), Yashaswi Jaiswal (1,217) and Harry Brook (1,220) on his way to climb up positions on the WTC list. Jaiswal, who has been in sensational touch might just leapfrog everyone to score the most runs in 2024 but Masood has overtaken him on the WTC list for now. Shan Masood smashed the fastest fifty for a Pakistan captain against England as he looked to take the positive route on a flat track in Multan.
Shan Masood stitched a 253-run stand with Abdullah Shafique as losing an early wicket of Saim Ayub didn’t make much difference to Pakistan’s innings that much. While Shafique was a bit cautious, Shan Masood never left the aggressive approach and both combined to frustrate England on a hot day in Multan.
The pitch had a bit of grass to bind it together but apart from maybe the first few overs, there was nothing much in it for the bowlers in general.
Day 2 in focus for England and Pakistan
A much, much better session for England but Pakistan take the honors on day 1. The day belonged to the 253-run partnership between Shan Masood and Abdullah Shafique. The Pakistan skipper was under tremendous pressure coming into this fixture and he’s got the monkey off his back with a magnificent hundred. He was a bit scratchy at the start of the innings, survived a LBW decision as well but the introduction of Shoaib Bashir allowed him to get a few boundaries away and settle him down.
Shafique was the perfect partner at the other end as he not only complemented Shan Masood but also scored at a good clip. But the pair departed in a space of 16 balls with Atkinson and Leach accounting for them. Babar and Shakeel seemed like they would see the day through but the former’s woeful Test run extended to another innings as he fell to Woakes in the penultimate over of the day. Pakistan have set the base for a massive first innings total and it is now over to their middle order to capitalize.
There were two centurions on Day 1 – Shafique and Masood – but there will be one relieved person today. Masood had lost all 5 Tests he had captained the side, he had lost a home series to Bangladesh, he hadn’t scored much runs in those games and the pressure was enormous coming into this series.
He struggled at the start of the innings but eased into it as the day progressed and notched up his 5th Test ton – much needed for himself and Pakistan. The 253-run partnership between him and Shafique has the laid the foundation for the middle order. Can Shakeel and Co. seize the initiative.
England picked only one wicket in the first two sessions yesterday and tried almost everything during that time, but in the third session they kept it tight which in turn got them the wickets. The second new ball did do a bit and was the reason for another Babar failure. It is only 5 overs old. Can England get few more wickets out of it would be exciting to watch.