Twitter reactions: Debutant Abrar Ahmed headlines Day 1 play as Multan Test evenly poised after Pakistan's strong comeback
England were bowled out for 281 in the first innings after winning the toss.
Pakistan ended day one's play at 107 for 2 in their 28 overs with Babar Azam (61*) and Saud Shakeel (32*) still batting at the crease as the hosts trail by 174 runs. Earlier in the day, England opted to bat first after winning the toss and played out the new ball spell with slight caution. Debutant Abrar Ahmed provided the first breakthrough as he picked Zak Crawley as his maiden Test wicket in just the ninth over of the innings.
Ollie Pope and Ben Duckett were happy to put away the bad balls in their quick partnership of 79 until Duckett was removed for a well-made 49 ball-63 by Abrar. Joe Root did not hang around for long as he was dismissed for eight runs. Towards the end of first session, England lost two quick wickets of Harry Brook (9) and Ollie Pope who made an excellent 61-ball 60.
Skipper Ben Stokes and Will Jacks tried restoring things for the visitors and their partnership of 61 runs was valuable at the given circumstances. At 245 for 9, Mark Wood (36*) and James Anderson stitched a 36-run partnership for the final wicket and ended with a total of 281 in the first innings.
Abrar was the pick of the bowlers without a doubt as the mystery spinner finished with 7 for 114 in his 22 overs while Zahid Mahmood scalped the remaining three wickets.
Pakistan's resilience with the bat helps in final session
Pakistan in reply did not have the best of starts as they lost Imam-ul-Haq early in the third over of the innings. Abdullah Shafique showed excellent technique, however, his stay was shortlived and was removed after adding 14 runs. Skipper Babar Azam and Saud Shakeel managed to play out the remaining overs of the day without losing further wickets.
Babar reached the half-century quickly as he hit a lot of boundaries while Shakeel provided a steady hand from the other end. An exciting set of action awaits in the next four days as the match is still evenly poised.
Here’s how the Twitter reacted to day one’s play
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