Abrar Ahmed makes stunning Test debut to leave England five down at lunch
Abrar Ahmed claimed a five-wicket haul on his first morning of Test cricket as England slid to 180 for five at lunch on day one in Multan.
England had shown no sign of easing up their attacking intent which led them to victory in the first Test, but this time Pakistan had five wickets by the first interval.
Ollie Pope and Ben Duckett scored half-centuries, but neither were able to push on as debutant Abrar proved too much for the England top order.
Abrar did not have to wait long for his first scalp in the format, taking the wicket of Zak Crawley with only his fifth ball, after England had won the toss and elected to bat.
Crawley, who made a century in the first innings at Rawalpindi in the first Test, was bowled through a large gap between bat and pad for 19 to leave England 38 for one.
Pope was given out lbw by the on-field umpire when he was on 11 but he reviewed the decision immediately and it was quickly overturned, with DRS showing the ball hitting his glove rather than the pad.
Duckett’s half-century came from just 40 deliveries, before he looked to accelerate further with a first six of the match.
He also successfully overturned an lbw decision, from the first ball of the 19th over, but had to depart five deliveries later for 63.
Abrar claimed his second wicket in Test cricket, with Duckett attempting yet another sweep which he had been utilising successfully but this time being hit on the pad, with a Pakistan review overturning the on-field decision.
The same pattern played out again to give Abrar his third wicket as Joe Root, on eight, was given not out but Pakistan reviewed and DRS showed the ball was going on to hit the stumps.
Pope had looked comfortable on his way to 60 but then became Abrar’s fourth wicket of the day when he reverse-swept straight to backward point, with Harry Brook then sending a leading edge to mid-on to give Abrar his five-for.
