PAK vs. ENG 2024/25, PAK vs. ENG 2nd test match report, October 15th – 19th, 2024

Innings break Pakistan 366 and 221 (Salman 63, Bashir 4-66) lead England 291 (Duckett 114, Sajid 7-111) for 296 runs

The stand, which was almost at a run per ball, was all the more painful for England as, a few overs before tea, Salman was dropped twice in three balls by Brydon Carse – on 4 and 6. And although Jack Leach Saud Shakeel taken out soon after the break and Aamer Jamal and Noman Ali followed soon after, Salman countered effectively and increased Pakistan to a lead of 300.

Salman eventually fell when separating a move to midwicket from Carse, but by this point he had put together by far the biggest partnership of the day alongside Sajid as the pitch continued to provide greater support to the bowlers and 14 wickets were lost. This meant England had to achieve the second-highest fourth-innings chase overall in Pakistan and by far the highest in Asia.

Shakeel had led Pakistan through the afternoon, having been involved in more than 30 consecutive contests with Kamran Ghulam and Mohammad Rizwan, before Salman was twice relieved by Carse: Jamie Smith failed to keep a regular pitch behind the stumps before Joe Root fired another at his True, the fact that he was wearing a helmet and standing in close proximity only partially compensated for this time.

With Shakeel’s arrival, Ben Stokes had decided on the bowling pace for the first time. But after two overs from Carse, in which Root missed a difficult chance when Shakeel tried to cut the ball, England once again turned on either side. The fifth-wicket pair were alert early on as they set about repairing some of the early damage.

When Stokes substituted Matt Potts, Rizwan looked to attack and hit fours on either side of the wicket. But as the ball turned and Carse was called upon again, England broke the stand in the following over. After troubling Rizwan with the returning ball, similar to how the batsman was dismissed in the second innings of the first Test, Carse then managed to getting one from holding his line on the edge of the off with Root holding on to a thick outside edge.

This was the first wicket to fall to a seamer on the third day as the Multan Test became a trial by spin. Sajid had scored a seven-wicket win to give England an early 75-run lead before Bashir scored three early in Pakistan’s second innings.

The state of the surface in Multan could be summed up by Stokes’ approach after his side were bowled out within the first hour. Leach and Bashir opened the bowling and Root was also given a few overs while Pakistan briefly had two left-arm batters in the middle.

Bashir hasn’t had much success on tour so far, but has shown signs that he could be up to the challenge. His third over brought the breakthrough, with Abdullah Shafique adjudged to have taken a catch behind the leg side – although the third umpire, Sharfuddoula, took some long deliberation after England went to DRS.

Shafique’s dismissal ended Pakistan’s opening stand at 9 – the ninth time in ten innings that he and Saim Ayub failed to reach double figures together.

Shan Masood didn’t last long, although he tried to transfer the attack to Bashir, and was denied by a player who ripped off a length to hit the splice and sharply catch Ollie Pope, who was just under the helmet at second slip was. There were plenty of twists and jumps for England’s spinners and with the final shot before half-time, Bashir edged out Ayub, who leaned forward to give Pope an easier chance.

It was anything but the first Test at this ground when just 13 wickets fell in the first three days. After eight units on the converted playing field, the number was already 25.

Sajid, whose four wickets during the evening session on the second day had knocked England off course, took three of the last four wickets to fall, with only a last-wicket stand of 29 – the fourth highest of any innings – threatening to limit Pakistan’s lead . Noman was the other bowler to make his contribution, taking his 50th Test wicket as England’s last recognized batsman, Jamie Smith, tried to bat off the tail. In total, England lost their last eight wickets for 80.

It didn’t take long for Sajid to start causing a stir in England’s lower leagues. Carse tried swinging and forward movement with little success, and after seeing an inside edge fall in front of short leg while defending, he tried to fly out of the air – only to have Sajid hit the long-on’s throat . Carse’s Durham teammate Potts fell in the offspinner’s next over and became tangled as he went over his stumps to be bowled through his legs.

With Leach for company, Smith decided it was time to switch gears; But their partnership only lasted eight balls as England’s No.7 was kept safe in the long run and tried to dismiss Noman.