Shan Masood, the Pakistan captain, in his sixth Test being in charge of the side, slammed his first century as skipper as the hosts took control of the series opener against England in Multan on Monday, October 7. Masood played a marathon knock of 151 runs, his first century in Tests in four years as Pakistan put England on the backfoot early on on the opening day of the first Test. Masood's knock helped him surpass the likes of Harry Brook and Yashasvi Jaiswal on the list of leading run-getters in World Test Championship (WTC) history.
Masood (1,241) surpassed the likes of Devon Conway (1,142), Aiden Markram (1,152), Najmul Hossain Shanto (1,179), Yashasvi Jaiswal (1,217) and Harry Brook (1,220) on his way to climb up positions on the WTC list. Jaiswal, who has been in sensational touch might just leapfrog everyone to score the most runs in 2024 but Masood has overtaken him on the WTC list for now. Masood smashed the fastest fifty for a Pakistan captain against England as he looked to take the positive route on a flat track in Multan.
Masood stitched a 253-run stand with Abdullah Shafique as losing an early wicket of Saim Ayub didn't make much difference to Pakistan's innings that much. While Shafique was a bit cautious, Masood never left the aggressive approach and both combined to frustrate England on a hot day in Multan.
The pitch had a bit of grass to bind it together but apart from maybe the first few overs, there was nothing much in it for the bowlers in general.
England got a couple of quick wickets in the final session, of both the set batters, however, Pakistan are already in control of the Test match. England are staring at a huge score from Pakistan unless there is a collapse.
