MULTAN: Pakistan captain Shan Masood on Monday led the national team from the front, scoring a crucial century on the opening day of the first Test against England.
After winning the toss and electing to bat first, opener Saim Ayub (4) departed early after being caught behind to Gus Atkinson. However, Masood and Shafique’s 114 runs took the national team to 122-1 at lunch.
The match, first of a three-match series, is being played at the Multan Cricket Stadium and is part of the ICC World Test Championship 2023-25.
During today’s match, Masood was awarded an lbw after a delivery from Brydon Carse in the debutant’s second over, but the batter revised the decision and had it overturned after replays confirmed that the ball had pitched outside leg stump.
Currently, the score is 189-1 with Masood (109*) and Shafique (72*) in the field.
Shafique got a reprieve in the 35th over when he opted for a risky single and England stand-in captain Ollie Pope’s direct throw narrowly missed the stumps.
England’s regular captain Ben Stokes missed the Test with a hamstring injury.
It is worth noting that England are led by Ollie Pope in the first Test after the visitors’ captain Ben Stokes was ruled out of the competition with a hamstring injury in the Hundred League.
Additionally, James Anderson is not accompanying the team on their tour to Pakistan as he is taking part in the Alfred Dunhill Links Scottish Championship.
The last time England were in Pakistan for a red ball series, they handed the national team a 3-0 defeat in 2022.
Before that, the visitors had played 24 Tests in Pakistan, winning just two, making the 3-0 victory that much more remarkable.
Play XI
Pakistan: Shan Masood (captain), Saud Shakeel (vice-captain), Saim Ayub, Abdullah Shafique, Babar Azam, Mohammad Rizwan (wicketkeeper), Salman Ali Agha, Aamir Jamal, Shaheen Afridi, Naseem Shah, Abrar Ahmad
England: Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Ollie Pope (captain), Joe Root, Harry Brook, Jamie Smith, Chris Woakes, Gus Atkinson, Brydon Carse, Jack Leach, Shoaib Bashir