Pakistan set a 297-run target for England after grabbing a handy lead of 296 runs with the help of Salman Agha’s 63 in their second innings on day three of the second test in Multan on Thursday.

Pakistan’s top order slumped after England’s Shoaib Bashir took three crucial wickets of Abdullah Shafique (4), Saim Ayub (22) and skipper Shan Masood (11), while he also removed Noman Ali (1).

Jack Leach also played his part for his side by sending off Kamran Ghulam (26), Saud Shakeel (31), and Aamer Jamal (1) which further dimmed the chances of resistance from the hosts.

However, Salman took the charge and responsibly brought Men in Green back to the game to stretch the lead by smashing 63 runs off 89 balls.

Brydon Carse ended Salman’s innings in 58th over, who also grabbed the key wicket of wicketkeeper-cum-batsman Mohammad Rizwan in 31st over.

After grabbing a crucial lead of 75 runs against England, Pakistan was hit with challenges, slumping to 77-4 in their second innings.

Pakistan Off-spinner Sajid Khan claimed seven wickets as the Green Shirts bowled out England for 291 as the visitors tried to chase Pakistan’s first-innings total of 366 in the spin-dominated contest.

Ben Duckett smashed 114 for England but several of their frontline batters failed to convert starts into big knocks.

On a track where the ball turned sharply and shot-making was difficult, England off-spinner Shoaib Bashir then delivered three huge blows to keep England in the contest.

Kamran Ghulam, who smashed a hundred in the first innings of his debut test, was batting on five having lost partner Saim Ayub (22) on the stroke of lunch but soon was knocket out at 26 by left-arm spinner Jack Leach.

England captain Ben Stokes began with spin from both ends due to the nature of the pitch, putting in off-spinner Bashir with Leach.

Stokes stayed with spin even when Leach had to be rested, pressing part-time off-spinner Joe Root into service.

Bashir drew first blood when he had Pakistan opener Abdullah Shafique caught behind for four. England successfully reviewed the original not-out decision and replays confirmed the faintest of edges.

Bashir dismissed Shan Masood for 11 after the Pakistan captain tried to flick a ball only to offer an edge to Ollie Pope at second slip.

Saim looked comfortable before falling to the same Pope-Bashir combination in the final delivery before the lunch break.

England had earlier resumed on 239-6 and lost their remaining four wickets in the first hour to concede a first-innings lead of 75 to the hosts.

Sajid dismissed Brydon Carse, Matthew Potts and Bashir to finish with impressive figures of 7-111.

Left-arm spinner Noman Ali claimed the remaining three as England lost all 10 wickets to Pakistan’s spin-heavy attack, which has Aamer Jamal as the lone seamer.

Previously, Ben Stokes’ squad had shown a strong response, particularly through Ben Duckett’s outstanding century, establishing a robust position against Pakistan.

Before that, the Shan Masood-led side got out for 366 with debutant Ghulam top-scoring for the hosts with a fluent 118 and Saim contributing 77.

England are 1-0 up in the three-Test series.

Pakistan Playing XI

Saim Ayub, Abdullah Shafique, Shan Masood (captain), Kamran Ghulam, Saud Shakeel (vice-captain), Mohammad Rizwan (wk), Salman Ali Agha, Aamir Jamal, Noman Ali, Sajid Khan and Zahid Mehmood

England Playing XI

Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Ollie Pope, Joe Root, Harry Brook, Ben Stokes (captain), Jamie Smith (wk), Brydon Carse, Matt Potts, Jack Leach and Shoaib Bashir

The day ended with Jamie Smith (12*) and Brydon Carse (2*) on strike.

The Ben Stokes-led side will be resuming their first innings on the third day of the second test.

The touring side were 88 for one at tea with Ben Duckett unbeaten on 53 and Ollie Pope on five.

Scoring the most runs, Duckett made a century with 114 runs off 129 balls after smashing 16 boundaries solely.

He was dismissed after Agha Salman caught the catch by first slip when Sajid Khan delivered the first ball of the 43rd over.

Pope, on the other hand, couldn’t score much for the team, making 29 after taking 16 runs from his four boundaries.

Aiming for a half-century, Joe Root (34) was dismissed after Sajid, eyeing his third wicket, hit the stumps on the third ball of the 41st over.

Players including Harry Brook and English skipper Ben Stokes scored less than 10 runs in the first innings.

With Brook scoring 9 and Stokes making one run and leaving the stadium at the second ball of the 44th over delivered by Noman Ali.

The Shan Masood-led side so far played good with the ball, taking six wickets down of the visitors.

With Sajid taking four wickets solely while Noman dismissed two players in the innings so far.

Earlier today, England’s Duckett smashed a rapid unbeaten fifty as he opened for the visitors, leading their robust reply to Pakistan’s first-innings 366.

Duckett combined in a breezy 73-run opening stand with Zak Crawley, who led a charmed life before he fell for 27.

Crawley survived a run-out after a mix-up with Duckett only because bowler Sajid had broken the stumps before he could collect the ball.

Sajid appeared to have redeemed himself in the next over when his lbw appeal against Crawley was upheld.

Pakistan’s joy was short-lived, however, as Crawley, convinced by Duckett, reviewed the decision, which was reversed after replays confirmed the ball would have narrowly missed the stumps.

Crawley could not make the most of the reprieves, though, and fell to Noman Ali.

After the caught-behind appeal against Crawley had been turned down, left-arm spinner Noman cajoled his captain Shan Masood to review the decision and replays confirmed an edge.

Pakistan all out in first innings

Earlier, Pakistan were all out for 366 in their first innings on day two of the second Test with debutant Kamran Ghulam top scoring for the hosts with a fluent 118 and Saim Ayub contributing 77.

Spinner Jack Leach (4-114) and seamer Brydon Carse (3-50) impressed with the ball for England, who are 1-0 up in the three-Test series.

Aamer Jamal and Noman Ali showcased the resilience of Pakistan’s lower order, reaching 358 for eight at lunch on day two of the second Test against England in Multan on Wednesday.

Mohammad Rizwan and Salman Agha opened the second day at 37 and five, respectively, on 259-5. However, the Green Shirts soon lost Rizwan to Brydon Carse for 41 as England dominated the opening hour.

Rizwan had survived a strong lbw appeal in the previous over from Matthew Potts but edged Carse and Jamie Smith took a sharp catch behind the stumps.

Meanwhile, Agha contributed 31 but failed to convert the start into a big knock. He also fell caught behind after Potts managed to extract some extra bounce from a docile track, inducing an edge that nestled into Smith’s gloves.

Leach removed Khan for two but Jamal frustrated England even though the batter struggled to get going and needed on-field treatment.

Jamal is the lone specialist seamer in Pakistan’s spin-heavy attack and his fitness is crucial for the home side’s hopes of levelling the series in Multan.

Previously, Ghulam, 29, hit a superb century on his debut to guide Pakistan to 259-5 on the opening day of the second Test, replacing out-of-form Babar Azam at number four and foiled England’s aggressive bowling and fielding to score 118.

Ghulam led a fightback after the hosts, who won the toss, were struggling at 19-2 with Leach striking twice in the first hour. He added 149 for the defiant third wicket with Saim Ayub, who hit a career-best 77, and another 65 for the fifth wicket with Rizwan.

The debutant reached three figures with a boundary off spinner Joe Root, taking 280 minutes and becoming Pakistan’s 12th batter to score a century in his first Test.

With just half an hour before stumps, Ghulam was bowled by spinner Shoaib Bashir, ending a resolute 323-minute knock spiced with 11 fours and a six.

Meanwhile, England employed a short mid-off and two mid-wicket fielders to get wickets after lunch but the Multan pitch — the same used for the first Test — gave very little help to the spinners after some early promise.

England lead the three-match series 1-0.

Pakistan Playing XI

Saim Ayub, Abdullah Shafique, Shan Masood (captain), Kamran Ghulam, Saud Shakeel (vice-captain), Mohammad Rizwan (wk), Salman Ali Agha, Aamir Jamal, Noman Ali, Sajid Khan and Zahid Mehmood

England Playing XI

Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Ollie Pope, Joe Root, Harry Brook, Ben Stokes (captain), Jamie Smith (wk), Brydon Carse, Matt Potts, Jack Leach and Shoaib Bashir

Captain Ben Stokes was named in the England team for the second Test against Pakistan starting in Multan on Tuesday after recovering from a hamstring injury.

Stokes suffered the injury two months ago and missed the three-match home series against Sri Lanka and last week’s first Test, which the visitors won by an innings.

Durham seamer Matthew Potts also returns to the side for the first time since the Lord’s Test against Sri Lanka at the end of August. Seamers Gus Atkinson and Chris Woakes are rested.

“Look, it’s obviously got to be sensible,” said talismanic all-rounder Stokes on Monday after he was declared fit, having been bowling in the nets since before the first Test.

“I’m obviously playing as a third seamer.

“I’m available to bowl and obviously when I sense the time is right for me to maybe come on and make an impact there won’t be any doubts in my mind that I can come on and bowl.”

Asked if he could have played as a batsman only, the 33-year-old skipper added: “Those were the sort of thoughts that went through my head at home before we came out.

“I’d written a few teams down with me not bowling, and it just didn’t work.”

England won the first Test, also in Multan, by an innings and 47 runs on Friday, with Ollie Pope leading the side in Stokes’s absence.

In a highly unusual move, the second Test will be played on the same pitch used for the first.

England rode on a brilliant 317 from Harry Brook and 262 from Joe Root for a stunning victory.

Pakistan became the first team in Test cricket’s 147-year history to lose by an innings after posting a 550-plus total in their first knock.

Under-pressure Pakistan, who have gone 11 Tests without a win at home, named three frontline spinners in their team as they chase a series-levelling win.

They have made four changes, including bringing in batsman Kamran Ghulam for his debut.

The 29-year-old has performed well in domestic cricket, having set a national record of 1,249 runs in the 2020-21 season.

The spin bowling will be handled by left-armer Noman Ali, leg-break bowler Zahid Mahmood and off-spinner Sajid Khan, all brought into the side.

Pakistan left out batsman Babar Azam along with the pace duo of Shaheen Shah Afridi and Naseem Shah, and spinner Abrar Ahmed. He is still unwell.

Playing XI
Pakistan: Shan Masood (captain), Saim Ayub, Abdullah Shafique, Kamran Ghulam, Saud Shakeel, Mohammad Rizwan, Salman Agha, Aamer Jamal, Noman Ali, Sajid Khan, Zahid Mahmood

England: Ben Stokes (captain), Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Ollie Pope, Joe Root, Harry Brook, Jamie Smith, Brydon Carse, Matthew Potts, Jack Leach, Shoaib Bashir

The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has finally announced a 16-member team for the second and third Tests against England after much deliberation, with key players including Babar Azam and Shaheen Shah Afridi out of the squad.

Young pacer Naseem Shah and experienced wicketkeeper-batter Sarfaraz are also not part of the team.

“Taking into consideration the current form and fitness of key players and looking ahead to Pakistan’s future assignments in the 2024-25 international cricket season, the selectors have decided to give rest to Babar Azam, Naseem Shah, Sarfaraz Ahmed and Shaheen Shah Afridi,” a statement released by the cricket governing body read.

It stated that the four players have been replaced by Haseebullah, Mehran Mumtaz, fast bowler Mohammad Ali, off-spinner Sajid Khan and all uncapped Kamran Ghulam.

Noman Ali and Zahid Mehmood, who were initially part of the original first Test squad but were subsequently released, have also been included in the 16-player squad, the PCB added.

It further stated that leg-spinner Abrar Ahmed remains unavailable for the second Test as he is still recovering from dengue fever.

The PCB said that the same squad had been finalised for the third Test match as well, which will be played in Multan and Rawalpindi on 15 and 24 October, respectively.

Speaking to the media after the squad announcement, member of the men’s national selection committee Aqib Javed said:

“Selecting the squad for the upcoming Tests against England has been a challenging task for the selectors. We’ve had to carefully consider current player form, the urgency to bounce back in the series and Pakistan’s demanding 2024-25 international schedule.”

He said that the decision to rest Babar and other key players has been made in the best interest of Pakistan cricket and its players.

“We are confident that this break from international cricket will help these players regain their fitness, confidence and composure, ensuring they return in top shape for future challenges,” Javed added.

The former cricketer went on to say that Babar, Shaheen, Naseem and Sarfaraz remain some of “our finest talents with much more to contribute to Pakistan cricket”.

He expressed commitment to support the cricketers during this period so they can come back even stronger.

Speaking about those who have been included in the squad, Javed said that they now have the chance to showcase their skills against a formidable England side.

“We believe they will rise to the occasion and make the most of this opportunity in the remaining two Tests,” he added.

The second Test is set to take place from October 15-19 at the Multan Cricket Stadium.

Pakistan squad: Shan Masood (captain), Saud Shakeel (vice-captain), Aamir Jamal, Abdullah Shafique, Haseebullah (wicket-keeper), Kamran Ghulam, Mehran Mumtaz, Mir Hamza, Mohammad Ali, Mohammad Huraira, Mohammad Rizwan (wicketkeeper), Noman Ali, Saim Ayub, Sajid Khan, Salman Ali Agha and Zahid Mehmood.