England was justifiably boasting on the fifth day of the first test here at Multan as a remarkable victory over Pakistan gave the tourists a big lead of an innings and 47 runs over the beaten hosts. In any terms, Pakistan fell in the record book, if not for a particularly commendable reason — it became the first Test team in cricket history to post a score of more than 500 runs in the first innings and still lose by an innings.
Reeling from the solidity of 556 in their first innings, Pakistan was utterly overwhelmed by the response of England who declared at 823-7. When Pakistan came to bat they were not able to avoid losing this match either, resuming on the last day of play at 152-6, still behind England by 115 runs.
Key Performances and Struggles
Pakistani resistance came through Salman Ali Agha (63) and Aamer Jamal (55*) coming together with a 109-run stand, putting a lot of pressure on the English bowlers early into day five. The breakthrough came soon for Pakistan as four wickets fell to Jack Leach who churned out a four-wicket haul for 30 runs. A key scalp to fall in this phase was that of Salman Ali who fell leg-before-wicket to Leach, ending a crucial stand for the team and leaving them on the back foot now.
Pakistan were playing with a man short after their spinner, Abrar Ahmed, was taken to the hospital with a fever and missed day four entirely. But even with a 150-run lead, Pakistan’s hopes of salvaging the match quickly faded as Leach led the charge with his sharp fielding further contributing when he caught Shaheen Shah Afridi (10) off his bowling.
After flirting with the home crowd with a six over long-off, Naseem Shah decided to look for another big hit but was stumped by Jamie Smith to seal the win for England. Brydon Carse went hard from the other end, complementing Leach in wrapping up the tail-end of Pakistan’s lineup.
Historic Collapse for Pakistan
Collapsing with a script that has been present for ages, Pakistan did justice to a historic demise.
Pakistan couldn’t hold their attack in the second innings as well. They were six down for 86 runs and continued their streak of terrible Test match performances. They lost this match to mark their losing streak in home Test matches. Since the last season, Pakistan hasn’t won a Test match at home, which is a precarious situation for the side that was considered strong at home.
Shaheen Afridi and Naseem Shah, Pakistan’s first-choice seamers, had toil in overtime as England recorded an innings that is as monumental as it is a record. For the Pakistani bowling attack, this stands out as its lowest ever; in fact, five of them conceded more than 100 runs as the Englishmen continued dancing to their tunes, an indicator of their ineffectiveness against the might of the English top order.
Former captain Babar Azam, who also scored an unhappy 30 and five runs, will be hoping that things improve when the pressure mounts on and off the field. The change in the guard within the team management – multiple chairmen or head coaches since 2022 – appears to have had little impact on steering the team towards winning.
England’s New Records
One of the England captains, Ollie Pope, described his outfit’s efforts, pointing out that a huge first-innings lead would be required. “We knew that way to win this game was to put a mammoth score on the board,” Pope said, praising Harry Brook, with 317, and Joe Root, on 262, who set a record 454-run partnership. Their efforts helped England take total control of the match.
Leach’s bowling was another bright spot, taking six wickets in the two innings, with impressive reflexes on the field. The England bowlers made sure that a good opening from Pakistan in the first innings did not convert into a lead for them.
Looking Forward
Pakistan will have only a few days to re-group before the second Test, which is also at Multan. The series was 1-0 with Shan Masood, Pakistan’s skipper, saying that the team would have to work things out as a team, especially how to take 20 wickets in a match. His side needs to bounce back better in their bowling and second-innings batting if they are to level the series ahead of the last Test in Rawalpindi.
Pakistan will continue searching for form in a tour that has so far been commanding for England. The Second Test starts on Tuesday, October 15, and the fans will be eager to see if Pakistan bounces back or if England clinches the series with another decisive victory.
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