Pakistan have taken the early advantage over England, while Australia continue to dominate the West Indies in their respective test matches.
Babar Azam
Photo: PHOTOSPORT
Pakistan’s Abrar Ahmed made a stunning test debut claiming seven for 114 to bowl out England for 281 on a frenetic opening day of the second test in Multan.
Pakistan were 107-2 in reply, with skipper Babar Azam leading their bid for a series-levelling victory with a fluent 61 not out.
Saud Shakeel was on 32 at the other end when bad light stopped play.
Pakistan are still 174 behind but will be happy how they have bounced back from the defeat in the opening test in Rawalpindi.
A bespectacled spinner mowing down the top half of England’s explosive batting lineup in the first session of his debut test is hardly what Ben Stokes would have expected after he won the toss and elected to bat.
Pakistan had already been without pace spearhead Shaheen Afridi who had been ruled out of the series following an appendicitis surgery.
Their fast bowling resources were further depleted after Haris Rauf (thigh) and Naseem Shah (shoulder) suffered injuries in Rawalpindi along with top order bat Azhar Ali (finger).
Pakistan opted for a spin-heavy attack while rejigging the squad, picking Mohammad Ali as their lone specialist seamer sharing the new ball with all-rounder Faheem Ashraf.
Their three replacements included Abrar and the leg-spinner impressed immediately after being introduced into the attack in the ninth over.
Meanwhile Australia’s Travis Head fell short of a maiden double hundred as the hosts declared their first innings on 511-7 and reduced West Indies to 102-4 to tighten their grip on the day-night second test at the Adelaide Oval.
Head smashed a career-best 175 and combined in an epic 297-run partnership for the fourth wicket with Marnus Labuschagne, whose 163 followed his 204 and 104 not out in the series opener in Perth.
Tagenarine Chanderpaul was batting on 47 at stumps with Anderson Phillip on one at the other end.
West Indies, still 409 behind, will need something extraordinary to escape a 2-0 series defeat.
-Reuters
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