PAK vs ENG, 1st Test: Baz aka Brendon McCullum's England has exactly done what they had said at the start of the Test series. Before the start of the ongoing Test match between Pakistan and England, head coach Brendon McCullum had said that England will not go for any draws in the series. Given, how the pitch at Rawalpindi is and Pakistan's batting prowess with both Babar and Rizwan to follow, they have taken a huge risk of assigning a target of 343. They have stood by their words and when the action begins on day 5, it will be a high-octane clash between both sides.
On day 5, not only Pakistan will fancy their chances of winning the Test match, but they will also try and equal a world record that has been standing for 15 years, the record of the most number of centuries scored in a single Test match. This is certainly not the sole result of Pakistan's efforts, England too have equally contributed to it. The Rawalpindi pitch came under severe scrutiny since the opening day. England amassed a total of 506 runs on the first day with four batters scoring staggering 100s. Zak Crawley, Ollie Pope, Ben Duckett & Harry Brook, all of them stunned Pakistan with their powerplay. Pakistan were expected to crumble, but they fought back. Abdullah Shafique, Imam-ul-Haq, and their skipper Babar Azam too scored blistering 100s. So far, 7 centuries have been scored in this Test match and if Pakistan can score one more in their chase, they will equal a record that was made in the year 2005.
The World Record
When South Africa played against West Indies at Antigua in 2005, the Test match was witness to 8 centuries being scored. AB de Villiers (114 off 173 deliveries), Graeme Smith (126 off 173 deliveries), Jacques Kallis (147 off 287 deliveries), and Ashwell Prince (131 off 254 deliveries) set the stage on fire. In reply, Chris Gayle (317 off 483 deliveries), Ramnaresh Sarwan (127 off 279 deliveries), Shivnarine Chanderpaul (127 off 287 deliveries) and Dwayne Bravo (107 off 235 deliveries) from West Indies replied back in style.
If Pakistan batsmen can score two more centuries, they will not only go past this world record but will also be in with a strong chance of winning this Test match.
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Pakistan playing XI: Abdullah Shafique, Imam-ul-Haq, Azhar Ali, Babar Azam (c), Saud Shakeel, Mohammad Rizwan (wk), Agha Salman, Naseem Shah, Haris Rauf, Mohammad Ali, Zahid Mahmood
England playing XI: Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Ollie Pope (wk), Joe Root, Harry Brook, Ben Stokes (c), Liam Livingstone, Will Jacks, Jack Leach, Ollie Robinson, James Anderson
