PAK vs ENG: The recently concluded Rawalpindi Test one run fest. Since the opening day, the track faced severe criticism, but how the Test match panned out and concluded is one for the ages and will be remembered by many generations to come. Overhauling and English cricket, this one beautiful love affair, and everybody is stoked by how Brendon McCullum has led the charge and has changed the face of English cricket as far as the longest format of the game is concerned.
Before the start of the series, Stokes & McCullum had made their intentions clear about going for results and they proved it. England visited Pakistan after a gap of 17 years. Several security threats were looming over this match and the series, but thankfully for both the boards, the Test match has gone pretty well and the upcoming matches promise to be filled with more action and high-quality cricketing action. A total of 1768 runs were made in this five-day contest and it is a record in itself. A total of seven Test tons were scored (4 by England and 3 by Pakistan). All of the seven came in the first innings itself. Come to the second innings, England were playing on a different level altogether. Many experts questioned Stokes and his decision of declaring the innings and letting Pakistan go for the target, but it seems he knew what he was doing.
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After the historic Test match, England Cricket posted a tweet hailing the team and describing the magnitude of the match. The tweet read 'The most runs EVER in a five-day Test. And this lot still took 20 wickets. We don't do draws. #PAKvsENG'. This tweet is a testament to Stokes and McCullum's prowess in the Test format which is often referred as 'BAZBALL'
The ECB's Tweet
Pakistan's 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's 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