England batters smash records for fun on flat Rawalpindi pitch
England sent the record books tumbling on the first day of the Rawalpindi Test against Pakistan after compiling 506 runs, the most by any team on an opening day of a Test match. Pakistan’s bowling looked toothless for the entirety of the day as four English batters raced to their respective centuries on one of the flattest pitches in the country.
Babar Azam’s Pakistan would be eager to get over the nightmare first day against the visitors England. Ben Stokes’ men launched a scathing assault on the Pakistani bowlers after the Three Lions won the toss and elected to bat first on a batting paradise. England’s all-out attack approach under the new regime of Brendon McCullum needed no second invitation as the English opening duo of Zak Crawley and Ben Duckett took charge from the get-go.
The ball might have been red, but the cricket was not too dissimilar to what the fans have been accustomed to in white-ball formats as the duo piled up a century stand in just 13.5 overs. Crawley, in particular, was in a menacing mood, hammering the Pakistani bowlers on his way to an 85-ball century, the fastest by an English opener in Tests, silencing his critics.
Meanwhile, Duckett also registered his maiden ton as the English opening duo added 233 runs for the first wicket, terrorizing their Asian opponents. Pakistan breathed a sigh of relief after both the openers were dismissed in successive overs. However, their joy was shortlived as the in-form Ollie Pope continued the assault on the bowlers. Former England skipper Joe Root missed out on the runs while the other batters enjoyed their outing on an underwhelming deck that had nothing for the bowlers.
Harry Brook registers maiden Test century on a frenetic first day
Root’s dismissal brought the young Harry Brook to the crease, who took a leaf out of the other batters’ books, plundering on his merry way. Pope brought up a brisk century while Brook turned heads, smashing debutant Saud Shakeel for six consecutive boundaries in an over. The 23-year-old, playing just his second red-ball game, raised his bat after compiling his maiden Test century in just 80 deliveries.
The English batters made hay on the batting-friendly track, assisted by some lacklustre bowling by the hosts. Pakistan’s bowling line-up featured as many as four debutants in the match, and their inexperience showed against a marauding English batting line-up that was bent on smashing records on the opening day of the first Test. The visitors eventually finished on 506/4, the most runs scored by any side on the first day of a Test match, as bad light came to the rescue of the hosts.
