Pakistan v England: Matthew Potts says 'game in the balance' after Kamran Ghulam century lights up second Test opener
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Published 15/10/2024 at 14:49 GMT+1
Pakistan ended day one of the second Test against England on 259-5 thanks to a ton from debutant Kamran Ghulam. Returning skipper Ben Stokes was in fine form as the tourists took five wickets, two coming early from Jack Leach before Ghulam found some rhythm alongside Saim Ayub. Pakistan took the surprising decision to keep the same pitch in Multan from the high-scoring first Test.
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England took five wickets on the opening day of the second Test in Pakistan, but a century on debut from Kamran Ghulam helped the hosts end the day on 259-5.
Ghulam’s 118 came on an unchanged pitch after the hosts opted to continue on the same surface from a historically high-scoring first Test in a highly unusual but fascinating decision.
Jack Leach took two early wickets to get England off to a strong start, but Ghulam’s partnership with Saim Ayub (77) got Pakistan back on track.
England’s spinners struggled to make an impact as the seamers had more success, including returning captain Ben Stokes, Matthew Potts and Brydon Carse.
Potts and Carse each took a wicket before Shoaib Bashir struck late to remove the eye-catching Ghulam.
"We created a lot of chances over the course of the day. The boys stuck at it, and we are pleased where we are with it now," Potts told the BBC.
"You don't tell a score until both sides have batted on it. It appeared to be flatter than we expected. The game is in the balance, a couple of early ones in the morning, and we will see what it is.
"I think it did spin; slow spin kept a bit low. The lads stuck to the basics really well in some strong heat today. A couple of early wickets in the morning and hopefully we can run through them."
Pakistan rang the changes by picking seven spin bowlers, and they elected to bat after winning the toss, while England captain Stokes and pace bowler Potts came in for the tourists.
The Multan pitch was a big talking point once more after the hosts took the surprising and very rare decision of opting to continue with the same surface as the first Test.
Leach got England off to a flying start with two wickets inside the first hour, Zak Crawley taking a great catch from Shan Masood before Abdullah Shafique was bowled out.
The Ghulam and Ayub partnership put on 149 as Pakistan responded well, but the returning Potts eventually struck when Ayub drove straight into the hands of Stokes at short mid-off as the two new English faces combined to take the third wicket.
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Pakistan took the score to 173-3 by tea, but shortly after the restart, England claimed their fourth wicket through Carse, edging Saud Shakeel for Jamie Smith to cling on to the catch.
The tourists left it late to take their fifth wicket, Bashir profiting on an error from Ghulam to remove the impressive debutant around 20 minutes before play was closed for the day.
It ended a fantastic first Test for the Pakistan batsman, who hit a century of 118 from 224 balls to cause more problems than anyone else for the English bowlers.
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