Kamran Ghulam has etched his name into the history books for Pakistan with a sensational hundred against England on Day 1 of the second Test in Multan. After brilliant performances in first-class cricket, Ghulam has perfectly begun his Test career.
Ghulam, who has come in place for Babar Azam, slammed a century to end a long wait for Pakistan in Test cricket. He has become only the second-ever Pakistan batter to slam a century while making his debut at No.4 in Test cricket. The first-ever batter from the country to hit a ton from No.4 was Saleem Malik, who hit 100* against Sri Lanka in a 1982 Test match in Karachi.
Ghulam reached his century in 192 balls, showing great determination and perseverance in the Multan heat. His knock was laced with nine fours and one sixes, showing his grit for runs and hunger to play for longer duration.
Pakistan opted to bat first against England in the second Test in Multan. The Men in Green are playing in the game without their three premier players - Babar Azam, Shaheen Afridi and Naseem Shah as the trio has been rested for the second and third Tests.
The Men in Green have picked a spin-heavy attack for the Multan Test as the same strip is being used for the second Test. Pakistan are looking to end their six-match losing streak and are aiming to get the best out of their home conditions. Zahid Mahmood, Sajid Khan, Noman Ali and Agha Salman form the spin attack with Aamer Jamal as the only specialist pacer in the line-up.
England have also made a couple of changes to their Playing XI with Ben Stokes and Matthew Potts coming in for Chris Woakes and Gus Atkinson.
Pakistan's Playing XI:
Saim Ayub, Abdullah Shafique, Shan Masood (c), Kamran Ghulam, Saud Shakeel, Mohammad Rizwan (wk), Agha Salman, Aamer Jamal, Noman Ali, Sajid Khan, Zahid Mahmood
England's Playing XI:
Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Ollie Pope, Joe Root, Harry Brook, Ben Stokes (c), Jamie Smith (wk), Matthew Potts, Brydon Carse, Jack Leach, Shoaib Bashir
