Key events
78th over: Pakistan 226-4 (Ghulam 102, Rizwan 25) I get the sense England are trying to quickly get to that new ball, with Root running briskly through another set.
77th over: Pakistan 225-4 (Ghulam 102, Rizwan 24) Bashir bowls what he needs: a quiet over. There’s just one off it.
76th over: Pakistan 224-4 (Ghulam 102, Rizwan 23) Root continues from the other end, with Rizwan sweeping for one. The Pakistan keeper has started to find some joy after a tough start against the quicks with the reversing ball.
75th over: Pakistan 223-4 (Ghulam 102, Rizwan 22) Shoaib Bashir re-enters the game and is immediately under the pump, Rizwan discarding him for two boundaries through deep midwicket. Excuse the shameless plug, but this is something I wrote about first Test hundreds a few years ago.
Century for Kamran Ghulam!
Joe Root gets to have a twirl, with Ghulam nicking a single to move to 98. Another single brings Ghulam back for the last two deliveries, and he swings across the line off the final ball, all the way to the ropes to celebrate his maiden Test hundred! Root offered a tempter, and Ghulam, who’s been mighty happy to take some risks, slapped that one hard through midwicket. An emphatic celebration follows. He’s the first Pakistani to hit a hundred on Test debut since Abid Ali in 2019.
74th over: Pakistan 218-4 (Ghulam 102, Rizwan 13)
73rd over: Pakistan 208-4 (Ghulam 97, Rizwan 12) Rizwan tries to channel his inner Ghulam, charging Potts for a wild hack; he doesn’t find the middle. A maiden follows, with Ghulam, on the cusp of debut hundred, going two overs without the strike. And to test his patience further, it’s drinks.
72nd over: Pakistan 208-4 (Ghulam 97, Rizwan 12) Rizwan gets the forward defence out, again and again, before punching for a single to end Leach’s over.
71st over: Pakistan 207-4 (Ghulam 97, Rizwan 11) Potts finds some late swing with a yorker to Ghulam, who gets his toes out of the way to find three through the leg side. He moves to 97.
Kim Thonger lays out some bars:
There once was a batter named Ghulam,
Whose bat was as sturdy as glulam.
He swung with great might,
Hit sixes in flight,
Till the crowd broke out into bedlam!
70th over: Pakistan 203-4 (Ghulam 94, Rizwan 10) Leach locates some sharp spin and bounce, getting one to rip past Rizwan’s forward prod.
69th over: Pakistan 200-4 (Ghulam 93, Rizwan 8) Matt Potts replaces Carse, who’s earned a breather. A snorter squares up Rizwan, beating the outside edge. Another edge follows, running low to give Rizwan a couple. Ooooh, a replay at the end of the over shows there was a very thin edge on that Potts pearler.
Osman is the man to listen to here:
There are reasonable arguments to have not dropped Babar.
– Giving him the choice of being dropped is not one.
– Keeping him because he’s a sellable brand is not another. https://t.co/TmwTvpVPvT— Osman Samiuddin (@OsmanSamiuddin) October 15, 2024
68th over: Pakistan 197-4 (Ghulam 92, Rizwan 6) Ghulam knocks Leach down the ground for one, bringing Rizwan on strike. He finally gets himself off none, driving through cover for a couple. A sweep for four follows. Rizwan’s a wonderful player, a key man in Pakistan’s strong middle to lower order – he averages above 40 in every format of the game.
67th over: Pakistan 190-4 (Ghulam 91, Rizwan 0) Carse is causing Rizwan serious bother, finding the outside edge, but the ball doesn’t carry to slip. A wonderful away swinger follows, with Rizwan still waiting to score his first runs – he got a duck in the first innings of the last Test. This is a spell of tight lines, decent movement and sharp pace from Carse. A maiden keeps Rizwan scoreless after facing 18 balls.
66th over: Pakistan 190-4 (Ghulam 91, Rizwan 0) Better from Ghulam, who runs down to Leach again but gets to the pitch of the ball, swinging safely to nail a straight four. A similar shot is repeated, the ball launched over mid-on for another boundary, moving Ghulam into the 90s.
65th over: Pakistan 182-4 (Ghulam 83, Rizwan 0) Ghulam plays another wild shot, trying to smash Carse over Stokes’ umbrella field – he gets away with it, the ball flying high but safely over the cover region.
64th over: Pakistan 179-4 (Ghulam 80, Rizwan 0) This could be some relief for the hosts, with Leach back on; the quicks were really troubling Pakistan. Don’t mind me: Ghulam is dropped at mid-on. The right-hander shimmies down the pitch to try and hit over mid-on, doesn’t get the required contact, but a leaping Duckett, moving high and to his right, can’t hold on.
63rd over: Pakistan 178-4 (Ghulam 79, Rizwan 0) Carse nips the ball into Mohammad Rizwan’s pads to prompt a hearty lbw appeal … it’s an excellent shout but the finger doesn’t go up. England opt against the review, perhaps thinking it’s going over the stumps. Carse has one keep low to close the over, with Rizwan nearly chopping on to the stumps. Pakistan are in a tricky spot.
62nd over: Pakistan 178-4 (Ghulam 79, Rizwan 0) Stokes has set up one of his intimidating fields, with Ghulam staring at three men hovering in the close cover region. Potts produces a maiden; Ghulam is on 79 but has struggled to score for a while now.
61st over: Pakistan 178-4 (Ghulam 79, Rizwan 0) Carse has figures of 1-6 after six overs. He’s been so impressive over the last week.
WICKET! Shakeel c Smith b Carse 4 (Pakistan 178-4)
Carse tests Shakeel’s ticker, striking the left-hander’s gloves with a bouncer. There’s still reverse swing out there, with Carse moving it into Shakeel. And then the one that moves away to nab Shakeel’s outside edge! It’s a wonderful setup, inviting the prod outside off, and Jamie Smith takes a brilliant catch behind the stumps, a very sharp effort from a rapid Carse delivery.
60th over: Pakistan 177-3 (Ghulam 79, Shakeel 4) Ghulam, having hit just one off his previous 21 deliveries, decides to take a risk, making room for a basebally swing through mid-off for four off Potts.
59th over: Pakistan 173-3 (Ghulam 75, Shakeel 4) It’s Carse, not Stokes, who thunders in from the other end, short mid-on and short-mid-off waiting for a loose drive from Saud Shakeel. Another maiden follows to build further pressure.
58th over: Pakistan 173-3 (Ghulam 75, Shakeel 4) Stokes continues with pace, Potts keeping things tight with a maiden to Ghulam.
Time for the third session, with Pakistan operating responsibly thus far. Which brings me to my commute this morning: on a packed Northern Line, the man stood next to me – his armpit threatening to envelop my face – was watching Luca Guadagnino’s intensely NSFW 2024 release, Challengers. It wasn’t something he was continuing from the night before; no, he was watching it right from the start. Thoroughly maverick behaviour from the gilet-wearing finance bro. Now to see if Pakistan – those well-known agents of chaos – replicate such wild behaviour. They’re capable of it.
They’re running through the replays of Potts’ dismissal of Saim: it’s a fine setup, the seamer sending the ball across the left-hander on a good length before pitching fuller to invite the tentative push forward, Stokes positioned perfectly at short mid-off.
Tea
57th over: Pakistan 173-3 (Ghulam 75, Shakeel 4) Stokes continues, bowling the final over of the session. Ghulam has been happy to just survive against the England captain, and a single brings Saud Shakeel on to strike for the last two balls of the over. Stokes finds the outside edge with the final ball, but Shakeel plays with soft hands, the ball staying low to run away past slip for four. Time for some chai.
WICKET! Saim c Stokes b Potts 77 (Pakistan 168-3)
Matt Potts changes things up, going over the wicket to Saim. The seamer’s third delivery of the over jags away from the left-hander before a wider ball is slashed hard … to point. After five dots … a wicket! Saim drives without conviction, finding Stokes at short mid-off. A productive stand comes to a close, Saim walking off with a Test-best if not a century.
56th over: Pakistan 168-3 (Ghulam 74)
55th over: Pakistan 168-2 (Ghulam 74, Saim 77) Stokes is operating at an average speed of 80mph, still feeling his way back from injury. He continues to look more threatening against Ghulam, who plays out four consecutive dots.
54th over: Pakistan 167-2 (Ghulam 74, Saim 76) Potts continues to skip in from around the wicket to Saim, keeping it stump-to-stump for the first three balls, perhaps setting him up for a wider delivery outside off to invite the edge. No, it’s the bouncer that follows with the fourth, but it flies a touch too high. Saim then delivers a gorgeous straight drive, with Harry Brook leaping spectacularly to stop the boundary.
53rd over: Pakistan 164-2 (Ghulam 74, Saim 73) Stokes finds Ghulam’s outside edge again … but the ball drops short of Joe Root at slip. It’s one thing getting the ball to reverse, but there’s very little carry in this surface. Ghulam’s dealing with cramp again, so there’s a break in play. England use it to get a helmet on Root’s head – he comes in closer to the stumps. I don’t think I’ve ever seen slip wear a helmet before.
52nd over: Pakistan 162-2 (Ghulam 74, Saim 72) Potts looks a threat to Saim Ayub, getting the ball to hoop in and challenge the left-hander’s pads and stumps. He then gets one to move away from Saim, who chases it and edges away to third man for a boundary. A more convincing stroke follows from Saim, who flicks off his pads for four, Potts going a touch too straight from around the wicket. An inside-edge closes the over, Saim nearly chopping on to his stumps.
51st over: Pakistan 152-2 (Ghulam 74, Saim 63) Stokes continues and unfurls a gorgeous outswinger against Ghulam, the ball sneaking past the outside edge. Another edge follows next ball, the ball keeping low to run away to the third-man rope. Ghulam is getting a serious test here, with Stokes deciding to challenge the toes; out comes the yorker, dug out by the right-hander.
They’ve got a proper 2013 playlist going in Multan as John Newman’s Love Me Again rings out.
50th over: Pakistan 145-2 (Ghulam 68, Saim 62) Matt Potts is called in, Stokes recognising that it’s time for the quicks to go to work. Potts brings the ball back into the left-handed Saim Ayub, conceding one from the over.
Showbizguru writes: “The theme tune from the 2012 Bond movie Skyfall seems to be a regular choice for break music at the Multan stadium. What England need now is a Thunderball. I’ll get my coat.”
49th over: Pakistan 144-2 (Ghulam 68, Saim 61) Ben Stokes decides to do it himself, taking off Brydon Carse. There’s a touch of reverse swing in the air and Stokes knows how to harness it. He’s loose to begin with, though; Ghulam punches through the covers for a couple. The next ball is far more threatening, with Stokes getting the ball to move away from the right-hander. Ghulam calls over the Pakistan doc, potentially cramping up as he shakes his right hand; time for the TV cameras to intensely focus on a man eating some ice-cream. As you do.
Dots follow before Stokes squares Gulham up with the final ball of the over, moving it away again to find the outside edge, the ball running away to the boundary for four. Nevermind the runs, there’s something to play with here for England.
Taha Hashim
48th over: Pakistan 138-2 (Ghulam 62, Saim 61) Hello, all, lovely to be here. Jack Leach continues after a few words of wisdom/affirmation/sweet nothings from captain Stokes. Kamran Ghulam skips down the pitch for a rather loose hoick across the line, getting a thick edge to collect three. Saim Ayub adventures down the wicket, too, playing a lovely lofted drive over mid-off for four.
47th over: Pakistan 131-2 (Saim 57, Ghulam 59) Stokes has decided it’s time for Brydon Carse, whose name is crying out for the late Tony Greig to be on commentary. His first ball, bowled from round the wicket to Saim, beats the inside edge and is superbly taken on the bounce by Jamie Smith. There’s nothing he can do later in the over when Carse rams one down the leg side for four byes.
There was a hint of reverse swing in that over – a mite, a soupçon – so this could be England’s opportunity. Taha Hashim will track every last millimeter of deviation; he’s ready to take over for the rest of the day’s play. Bye!
46th over: Pakistan 127-2 (Saim 57, Ghulam 59) Ghulam’s fast hands allow him to back cut Leach for two. It’s one thing to come out at 19 for two on debut, quite another when your team are on their knees and you’re replacing their best player. In that context this has been a gem of an innings.
45th over: Pakistan 125-2 (Saim 57, Ghulam 57) Ghulam reverse sweeps Bashir for for, the first sign of impudence from him. Pakistan are inching towards what might be a very handy position. Let’s be honest, we’re all hedging our bets because we have no idea what this pitch will do. It might crumble completely; it might stay like this.
Ben Stokes has a look at the ball, decides it isn’t reverse-ready and throws it back to Jack Leach.
