Root, Brook created history while Pakistan collapse in 2nd innings of 1st test

 

Thanks to the historic innings by Harry Brook and Joe Root, England is on the verge of winning the Multan Test by an innings. The 2553rd Test match saw a flurry of records. England declared their first innings at 823 for 7. Pakistan had scored 556 runs in their first innings. With a first-innings lead of 267, England put immense pressure on Pakistan. As a result, Pakistan stumbled in their second innings, losing 6 wickets for 152 runs, leaving them in deep trouble. To avoid an innings defeat, Pakistan still needs 115 more runs, which seems difficult.

In Pakistan's second innings, Saud Shakeel was the top scorer with 29 runs before getting caught behind off Leach , while opener Sam Ayub made 25 abd then played a poor shot and the high catch was taken at midoff well by Duckett . Mohammad Rizwan was dismissed for 10 bowled by Carse to a ball that kept low , Babar Azam's innings ended at 5 caught behind off Aktinson poking outside off . Captain Shan Masood returned to the pavilion after scoring 11 caught at short midwicket off Atkinson abd opener Abdullah Shafiquewas out first ball bowled by Woakes . Agha Salman is unbeaten at 41, with Aamir Jamal supporting him with 27 not out. There is still one full day left in the Multan Test. Atkinson and Cars have taken two wickets each, while Woakes and Leach have claimed one wicket apiece.

Earlier, this was only the fourth occasion in Test cricket when a team scored over 800 runs. It is also the fourth-highest team score in Test history. The record for the highest innings total belongs to Sri Lanka, who declared at 952 for 6 against India in 1997. Sri Lanka had broken England's 1938 record when they declared at 903 for 7 against Australia. Before this, England had scored 849 runs against the West Indies in 1930.

Joe Root played the best innings of his career, scoring 262 runs. During this time, he became England's highest run-scorer in Test cricket, surpassing Alastair Cook. Root now ranks fifth among the highest run-scorers in Test cricket, behind Sachin Tendulkar, Ricky Ponting, Jacques Kallis, and Rahul Dravid. Harry Brook also made a monumental contribution with 317 runs, placing him 20th on the list of highest individual scores in a single Test innings. He became the sixth English player to score a triple century in Test cricket, the first since Graham Gooch's 333 against India in 1990.

Root and Brook plundered 454 runs often at high rate , which is the highest partnership for the fourth wicket by England in Test cricket. The record for the highest partnership is held by Sri Lanka's Kumar Sangakkara and Mahela Jayawardene, who shared a 624-run stand against South Africa in 2006. Six Pakistani bowlers conceded over 100 runs in the innings, marking only the second time in Test history that six bowlers have given away 100+ runs in a single innings. The first occurrence was in 2004 when Zimbabwe's bowlers conceded 100+ runs each against Sri Lanka.

While Root played classical shots mostly ,Brook showed more firepower as he toyed with the Pakistanis and played breathtaking strokes . Smith played a smart cameo of 31 as England finally declared at 823/7 leaving  Pakistani players tired and jaded after 2 days in the hot sun  and that got soon reflected in the home team's 2nd innings batting .