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October 21, 2024
By the end of the second day, England found themselves struggling at 239 for 6, still trailing Pakistan by a significant 127 runs.
Pakistan seized control of the second Test in Multan, turning the tide after a day of solid England batting with a dramatic surge of wickets. This breakthrough was a welcome change for Pakistan, who had suffered through a disappointing stretch of six consecutive Test losses.
Despite their efforts, England could only manage to bowl Pakistan out for 366 shortly after lunch. Ben Duckett shone with a brilliant fourth Test century, showcasing his dominance at one point. England started strongly, reaching 73 without loss after 12 overs. However, by the 42nd over, they had lost momentum, sitting at 211 for 2 when Sajid Khan’s impressive delivery dismissed Ollie Pope. It was clear that the pitch was starting to deteriorate after seven days of play.
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Eighteen balls later, England’s batting line-up collapsed dramatically, losing four wickets for just 14 runs. The pivotal moment came when Sajid Khan dismissed Joe Root, who was enjoying a career-best ranking in the ICC standings. Root’s sweep shot ricocheted off the stumps for 34 runs, reigniting Pakistan’s belief.
Pakistan’s strategy had come together perfectly: runs on the board? Check. Seam bowling irrelevant? Check. Spinners finding turn with close fielders? Check.
In his next over, Sajid struck again, snatching Ben Duckett’s wicket as a delivery zipped off his outside edge, landing safely in Salman Agha’s hands at slip. Before the over ended, he also dismissed Harry Brook, who had started strong with two powerful fours off leg-spinner Zahid Mahmood but fell victim to a sharp off-break that shattered his stumps.
Zahid was soon replaced by fellow spinner Noman Ali, who quickly sent England captain Ben Stokes packing for just 1 run off five balls, a disappointing return in his first competitive innings since August.
As Jamie Smith and Brydon Carse batted through to the close of play, England’s situation looked dire. With the pitch deteriorating further, they needed to find some parity in the match to avoid slipping further out of control.
It was a stunning turnaround that capped an exciting day of Test cricket, and even by Pakistan’s unpredictable standards, their revival was remarkable. Until everything clicked into place, their performance seemed to be unraveling.
Their troubles began even before the first ball was bowled, as Aamer Jamal, their only seamer, picked up a hip injury during a determined innings of 37 in the morning session. He managed to bowl just six costly overs across three spells. Meanwhile, Shan Masood showed little faith in his leg-spinner Zahid, allowing Ben Duckett to dominate the spin bowlers. Duckett effectively used a variety of sweep shots, pulling the fielders all over the leg side.
Duckett reached a brilliant century off just 120 balls, with his signature sweep shot marking the milestone. Remarkably, this was the slowest century of his four in Test cricket. He also became the fastest player to reach 2,000 Test runs, achieving this in just 2,293 balls—a niche record that highlights his embodiment of England’s aggressive “Bazball” approach since his recall for the last tour of Pakistan in December 2022.
Despite Duckett’s aggression, there were moments that hinted at a contest brewing. Zak Crawley’s innings illustrated this. He preferred pace but struggled against the spinners, receiving two major reprieves before finally edging a loose drive to slip for 27, a decision that was successfully reviewed by Noman.
Crawley was nearly run out on 20 when he hesitated on a quick single, but Sajid broke the stumps before the ball arrived. A few runs later, he was convinced to review an lbw decision after being struck on the pads while sweeping Sajid, and it turned out the ball was missing leg stump.
Duckett faced a critical moment at 83 when Noman, bowling around the wicket, narrowly missed hitting his leg stump as Duckett attempted a reverse sweep. He was also struck on the visor twice by balls that bounced unexpectedly out of the rough. Though he was disappointed to be part of the late collapse, it was astonishing to see how effortlessly he had dominated the game while things were going well.
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The chaotic final overs were a stark contrast to the slower pace of the morning session, where Pakistan began with a promising score of 259 for 5. Although the pitch offered some turn and reverse swing, it resembled the flat surface that had produced a staggering 1,599 runs in the first Test last week.
In cooler, hazy conditions, the pitch seemed to have gained an extra yard of pace at the start of the day, which Brydon Carse exploited effectively. Mohammad Rizwan had added just four runs to his overnight total of 37 when he was beaten by extra bounce and lift, resulting in a sharp catch taken by Jamie Smith behind the stumps.
Carse’s impressive performance included the crucial wicket of Saud Shakeel, showcasing his ability to generate unexpected life from the pitch. Agha briefly found momentum with four boundaries through deep third, but England captain Ben Stokes opted for an aggressive field placement, adding a gully to increase the risk for the batsman. This strategy paid off when Matt Potts generated extra bounce, and Smith made another sharp catch, his third of the innings.
When Sajid Khan drove the ball to short cover, Pakistan was in danger of a collapse at 309 for 8. However, Aamer Jamal and Noman Ali’s key partnership of 49 runs for the ninth wicket helped push the total past 350. Despite this, England felt pleased with their performance as Jack Leach wrapped up the innings with his fourth wicket.
As was evident from the start when Shan Masood won the toss, accumulating runs will be crucial in this match. At the moment, despite Ben Duckett’s brilliant efforts, England lacks a sufficient total on the board.
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