England vs Pakistan: Debutant Kamran Ghulam hits century as tourists claim five wickets on day one of second Test

Pakistan’s debutant Kamran Ghulam posted his maiden Test century as England claimed five wickets on day one of the second Test in Multan.

Ghulam (118) shared a responsible 149-run stand with Saim Ayub (77) after Pakistan won the toss and elected to bat on the recycled surface, becoming the first batter at No 4 to score a maiden century against England, before he was bowled by Shoaib Bashir (1-66) in the evening session.

Pakistan closed on 259-5, recovering from Jack Leach’s (2-92) double strike which reduced the hosts to 19-2 inside 10 overs on a turning, used pitch and avoiding the potential for a collapse.

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Wednesday 16th October 5:50am

Brydon Carse (1-14) and Matthew Potts (1-36) also picked up one wicket apiece as they continued to make the most of lateral movement on offer, a stark contrast to the desperately flat wicket during the first Test, with captain Ben Stokes also bowling five overs on return from his hamstring injury.

Muhammad Rizwan (37no) and Salman Ali Agha (5no) managed to survive the second new ball, batting sensibly as the wicket deteriorated throughout the day.

The hosts made radical changes to their side by dropping Babar Azam, Shaheen Shah Afridi and Naseem Shah as they hope to level the three-match series after England beat them by an innings and 47 runs in the first Test last week.

England exploit movement in Multan

Pakistan openers Abdullah Shafique (7) and Saim (77) put on a 15-run opening stand, the highest between the pair, but Leach’s two wickets stopped the record from going any further.

The Somerset spinner found spin and grip throughout the morning session as he flattened Shafique’s off stump with a delivery that straightened late and went past his defences.

There was even more pressure on Pakistan’s top-order to perform after dropping Babar but their captain Shan Masood (3) was unable to make an impact, lasting only seven deliveries after he flicked Leach straight to Zak Crawley at short midwicket.

Kamran managed to find his stride, though ,hitting 11 boundaries and one six as they used the afternoon session as a period of consolidation, carefully negotiating the reverse swing on offer in Multan.

Saim punched Bashir through mid-on for a couple of runs to bring up his third Test fifty as he injected stability into Pakistan’s innings.

Potts, who replaced Gus Atkinson for the second Test, made a breakthrough for England on the stroke of tea having Saim caught by Stokes at mid-off.

England’s wicketkeeper Jamie Smith then took a sharp catch to see the end of Saud Shakeel (4) who was outdone by the extra bounce Carse managed to extract.

England were agile in the field, chasing every ball to the boundary as per head coach Brendon McCullum’s instructions, but Ben Duckett made a potentially costly error when he dropped Kamran on 78 at mid-on.

Kamran reached his milestone in brilliant fashion, slog-sweeping Joe Root (0-24) for four before fist pumping the air and kissing the ground in celebration. It was fitting, too, that he shared the moment at the crease with Rizwan, who had earlier handed him his debut cap.

It took Rizwan 20 balls to get off the mark and he did so with a sweep shot off Leach for four and was granted an extra life after his nick behind off Potts went undetected with England deciding not to review.

The 65-run partnership was eventually broken by Bashir after Kamran came down the wicket, played down the wrong line and was bowled.

The wicket was not only a lift for England late in the day but also for their young off-spinner who only managed one scalp in the first Test.

Rizwan is one of Pakistan’s top performers and Salman has a reputation of batting well with the tail so the hosts will look towards a score in excess of 300 on day two.

Mumtaz: Kamran grabbed his opportunity

Sky Sports’ Urooj Mumtaz on Kamran Ghulam’s ton:

“Kamran Ghulam has been the one name on the bench for a very long time. He definitely deserved a place and grabbed the opportunity by the scruff of the neck.

“He’s one person who has churned out the runs at the domestic level. Since 2020, he is averaging about 50. Even this year, he has three hundreds and is averaging about 66.

“He is the one name that did warrant a place, so there wasn’t much scrutiny in a negative sense about Kamran replacing Babar.

“It’s just that the overarching picture was about dropping Babar.”

Hussain: Kamran has swagger

Sky Sports’ Nasser Hussain on Kamran debut:

“He’s had to wait his turn. He’s been scoring prolific runs in the last three years.

“He got the right balance between attack and defence. They lost a couple of early wickets – on debut you want to get out there and that will have helped him.

“Pakistan players generally love the sweep shot, he’s got that in his locker. He used his feet as well.

“He’s got a bit of Steve Smith about him when he defends the ball and charges. He’s got a bit of swagger about him.”

First Test: Multan – October 7-11 – England won by an innings and 47 runs

Second Test: Multan – October 15-19

Third Test: Rawalpindi – October 24-28

Every match from the 2024 Women’s T20 World Cup is also live on Sky Sports from October 3-20 with Australia aiming for a third straight title and seventh overall, and England seeking to triumph for the first time since the inaugural edition in 2009.

Watch day two of the second Test between Pakistan and England in Multan, live on Sky Sports Cricket and Main Event from 5.50am on Wednesday, ahead of play starting from 6am. Stream with NOW