Pak vs Eng: Root hits century as England stand at 345-3 after lunch
Joe Root scored a century without getting out, helping England reach 345-3 after lunch on the third day of their first match against Pakistan on Wednesday.
At the end of the session, England were still 324 runs behind Pakistan, with Root batting at 72 and Ben Duckett at 80 not out.
Earlier, Root reached his 65th Test half-century with an inside edge. The 33-year-old also survived a strong lbw appeal and moved past Alastair Cook’s record, becoming one of the top five all-time leading run-scorers, behind greats like Rahul Dravid, Jacques Kallis, Ricky Ponting, and Sachin Tendulkar.
England started the day at 96-1 after Pakistan posted a huge total of 556 runs on a flat pitch in Multan. They lost Zak Crawley, who was out for 78 within the first hour after he flicked a ball from Shaheen Afridi to Aamer Jamal at mid-wicket. This ended a strong 109-run partnership for the second wicket, but England kept their aggressive approach.
Ben Duckett, who had dislocated his left thumb and missed opening on Tuesday, seemed unaffected when he came to bat. He attacked spinner Abrar Ahmed, hitting three boundaries in the 30th over, forcing the bowler out of the attack for a while.
Duckett quickly reached his half-century, needing only 45 balls, while Pakistan struggled to keep England’s run rate below five an over.
Teams:
Pakistan: Shan Masood (captain), Saud Shakeel (vice-captain), Saim Ayub, Abdullah Shafique, Babar Azam, Mohammad Rizwan (wicketkeeper), Salman Ali Agha, Aamer Jamal, Shaheen Afridi, Naseem Shah, Abrar Ahmed.
England: Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Ollie Pope (captain), Joe Root, Harry Brook, Jamie Smith, Chris Woakes, Gus Atkinson, Brydon Carse, Jack Leach, Shoaib Bashir.
