Abdullah, Shan hit tons in England Test

Abdullah Shafique and Shan Masood scored their fifth Test centuries as Pakistan scored 328 for four on the opening day of the first Test against England at the Multan Cricket Stadium Monday.

Saud Shakeel (35 not out, 72b, 5x4s) and Naseem Shah (0 not out, 3b), coming as a nightwatchman, will resume their batting tomorrow when the first ball will be bowled at 10am.

Opting to bat first after winning the toss, Pakistan’s opening pair of Abdullah and Saim Ayub got together, but it took only 3.4 overs for the tourists to send left-handed Saim back to the hut, when he was caught behind on the leg side for four off 10 balls.

With the scorecard reading 8-1, Shan joined Abdullah in the middle and the pair made sure that the hosts did not lose more wickets till tea.

Resuming at 122 for one after lunch, both batters went on to score their hundreds. Shan brought up his fifth Test and 28^th first-class century off 102 balls, which included 10 fours and two sixes, while Abdullah Shafique brought up his 10^th first-class century with a six. His 100 runs came off 165 balls, which included 10 fours and two sixes.

The partnership of 253 runs for the second wicket between Abdullah and Shan was broken soon after the tea interval, as Abdullah fell to Gus Atkinson for 102 off 184 balls. This partnership was the fourth highest second-wicket partnership for Pakistan in Test cricket.

Shan (151, 177b, 13x4s, 2x6s), who scored his first century after taking over as captain in December 2023, soon followed Abdullah as Pakistan lost two wickets in quick succession.

Babar Azam and Saud Shakeel got together and stitched a 61-run partnership for the fourth wicket. Babar, just before the close of play, was adjudged leg-before-wicket for a 71-ball 30.

For England, right-arm fast bowler Gus Atkinson bagged two wickets for 70, while Chris Woakes and Jack Leach snapped a wicket each.

Earlier, captain Shan Masood won the toss and chose to bat on the opening day of the first Test against England.

Ollie Pope leads England after Ben Stokes was ruled out with fast bowler Brydon Carse, 29, making his Test debut just weeks after the end of a three-month ban for breaches of betting rules.

Both the teams have picked three fast bowlers and two spinners in a hope that the pitch will offer early help to the seamers before taking spin later in the match.

Pakistan are on a streak of 10 winless Tests at home, including a shock 2-0 sweep by Bangladesh last month, while England have won five of their last six matches in the longest format.

Free entry for fans

Deputy Commissioner Multan announced free entry for cricket fans in Multan Cricket Stadium’s all general enclosures on first day of first Test match being played between Pakistan and England.

Local management established special desks to provide guidance to cricket fans about parking areas and inside the Multan Cricket Stadium.

TEAMS

Pakistan: Shan Masood (captain), Abdullah Shafique, Saim Ayub, Babar Azam, Saud Shakeel, Mohammad Rizwan, Salman Agha, Aamer Jamal, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Naseem Shah, Abrar Ahmed

England: Ollie Pope (captain), Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Joe Root, Harry Brook, Jamie Smith, Chris Woakes, Gus Atkinson, Brydon Carse, Jack Leach, Shoaib Bashir

Umpires: Kumar Dharmasena (SRI) and Sharfuddoula Saikat (BAN)

TV umpire: Chris Gaffaney (NZL)

Match referee: Richie Richardson (WIS)

Reporter Mehr Imran.AFP