PAK vs ENG, 1st Test: The great English gamble and nothing else, Ben Stokes & Brendon McCullum, basis on their courageous gameplay have toppled over Pakistan in the recently concluded that was being played at Rawalpindi. With Brendon McCullum and Ben Stokes at the helm of things, this was England's first overseas assignment and they have certainly proved their mettle both with the bat and the ball over here. The pitch was under loads of scrutiny from the first day itself, but England rose to the occasion and they have now defeated Pakistan. A total of seven centuries were scored in Rawalpindi (4 England, 3 Pakistan) and as of now, that is a record in itself.
A total of seven centuries were scored in Rawalpindi (4 England, 3 Pakistan) and as of now, that is a record in itself. In a very courageous move, considering how the pitch was, England skipper Ben Stokes declared the second innings and assigned a score of 343 for Pakistan to chase. Pakistan looked in contention for quite sometime, but they faltered at the final stages of the match and left a lot of work for the lower order. This Test match had everything, from T20-style batting to T20-style fielding. Entertainment is always guaranteed. England had won the toss and they elected to bat first. They amassed a total of 506 runs and were already ahead in the game. They scored 657 runs in the first innings. Pakistan, courtesy of Babar Azam, Abdullah Shafique, and Imam-ul-Haq scored a total of 579 runs.
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Come to the second innings, England showed a lot of courage. They went all out and all guns blazing. Zak Crawley, Ollie Pope, Joe Root, Harry Brook, and Will Jacks, all batted at a strike rate of over 100 and when they declared, they were already 343 runs ahead. In what was a courageous declaration, England have now defended their score and they are 1-0 up in the series.
Pakistan 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 XI: Crawley, Ben Duckett, Ollie Pope (wk), Joe Root, Harry Brook, Ben Stokes (c), Liam Livingstone, Will Jacks, Jack Leach, Ollie Robinson, James Anderson
