Pak vs Eng, Day 2: England Finish at 96/1 in Response to Pakistan’s 556 in First Test
At the end of Day 2 in the first Test in Multan, England reached 96 for 1 in their first innings, replying to Pakistan’s imposing total of 556. Zak Crawley remained unbeaten on 64, alongside Joe Root on 32, as play ended for the day. England captain Ollie Pope was dismissed for a duck, caught off Naseem Shah’s delivery. England now require another 261 runs to avoid a follow-on.
Earlier, Pakistan resumed their innings from an overnight score of 328 for 4. It was another challenging day for the bowlers as Salman Ali Agha’s unbeaten century (104*) and Saud Shakeel’s solid 82 helped Pakistan extend their total. Pakistan’s strong position was initially built by Shan Masood’s 151 and Abdullah Shafique’s 102.
Nightwatchman Naseem Shah contributed a valuable 33, hitting three sixes and a four before being dismissed. Saud Shakeel’s innings included eight boundaries, while Mohammad Rizwan fell for a duck.
Salman Ali Agha, playing a brilliant knock with the tailenders, completed his century, finishing with 104 not out, including 10 fours and 3 sixes. He also reached 1,000 Test runs during this innings, achieving the milestone at 71. Salman added a crucial 85-run partnership for the ninth wicket with Shaheen Shah Afridi, who made 26.
Aamer Jamal and Abrar Ahmed added 7 and 3 runs respectively to Pakistan’s total. For England, Jack Leach took three wickets, while Gus Atkinson and Brydon Carse claimed two each.
