Ben Duckett injured as England battle to 96-1 in response to huge Pakistan total of 556
/origin-imgresizer.tntsports.io/2025/05/02/image-dfe2a7b1-16b3-40a7-aa20-5e002e65941a-68-310-310.jpeg)
Published 08/10/2024 at 15:20 GMT+1
England had another tough day in the heat on day two of the first Test in Multan. Ben Duckett suffered a thumb injury while taking the catch that finally ended a huge innings for the hosts. Pakistan racked up 556 runs as Salman Ali Agha became their third player to reach a century in the innings. Joe Root and Zak Crawley's partnership helped the tourists finish the day feeling optimistic.
'Got to ready yourself for everything' - Root looks ahead to challenging Pakistan series
Video credit: TNT Sports
England had to overcome soaring temperatures and injury to reach 96-1 in their bid to respond to Pakistan’s 556 on day two of the first Test.
The hosts racked up a huge total in their first innings, and England’s response left them trailing by 460 runs at the close of the second day.
Pakistan were on 328-4 at the end of the opening day in Multan and the efforts of Saud Shakeel and nightwatchman Naseem Shah helped them continue to rack up a big score, making 82 and 33 respectively.
But it was Salman Ali Agha who piled on the misery for the tourists, becoming the third Pakistan batter to reach a century in the innings in his run of 104.
That was after Chris Woakes appeared to catch him out on 15 with a fantastic effort on the boundary, but it was ruled not out when a TV umpire judged that the Englishman had a foot beyond the rope.
Ben Duckett then suffered a thumb injury while producing the catch that sealed the final Pakistan wicket to remove Salman, leaving him unable to bat.
That meant stand-in captain Ollie Pope opened instead, but a superb one-handed catch from Aamer Jamal stopped him short on just his second ball.
Zak Crawley and Joe Root restored some calm with 64 and 32 respectively, the former impressing in his first innings since July following an injury.
Root’s total leaves him 39 runs from surpassing Alastair Cook as England’s all-time leading run-scorer heading into day three.
“I think we spoke last night and to have them 330-4, if you had that score back in England you're probably behind the game a bit,” England bowler Brydon Carse told Sky Sports.
"But in that first session they only got 60 or 70 runs and we scored 100 in 20 overs tonight.
"If we can come back tomorrow and back positively and really put their attack under pressure, let's see where we're at the end of the day with two full days of cricket to go."
Watch and stream top cricket action live on Eurosport and discovery+
Related Topics
Thoughts?
Advertisement
Advertisement