Led by Shan Masood’s maiden century as captain and supported by Abdullah Shafique, Pakistan dominated the opening day against England in Multan, reaching 233 for 1 in a wicketless post-lunch session on Day 1. The pair built a commanding 225-run partnership for the second wicket, leaving the English bowlers struggling on a flat pitch.
Pakistan’s aggressive batting mirrored the treatment England’s batters had faced on their previous tour, with the surface offering little help to the bowlers after the first hour. England tried a short-ball strategy early in the second session and almost got a breakthrough when Shafique mistimed a pull shot. However, the pair quickly recovered, with Jack Leach flighting the ball from one end and Brydon Carse continuing the short-ball approach from the other. Both Masood and Shafique capitalized on poorly directed deliveries, confidently playing the pull shot.
Even Gus Atkinson, returning to the attack, was unable to trouble them with his pace. Masood, the more aggressive of the two, hit Atkinson for a six and later charged down the wicket to smash Leach over the boundary. He reached his first Test century in four years with a single. As Pakistan’s score continued to mount, England unsuccessfully reviewed a leg-before decision against Masood after he missed a sweep off Shoaib Bashir. Towards the end of the session, the pair shifted to a strategy of quick singles and doubles.
Earlier in the day, Pakistan won the toss and elected to bat. Saim Ayub was caught down the leg side in the fourth over, but that was England’s only success of the morning. Masood’s counterattack soon left England on the backfoot.
Brief Scores: Pakistan 233/1 (Shan Masood 130, Abdullah Shafique 94; Gus Atkinson 1-51) vs England.
