What a curious opening day to the second Test, played on used pitch that is essentially now six days old.
There were clear signs that this pitch isn’t the Multan road we saw in the first Test, spinner Jack Leach claiming two early scalps as spin and low bounce came to the fore in the first 10 overs.
From there, Pakistan did very well to finish the day on 259-5, thanks in the main to Kamran Ghulum’s fine debut hundred, but I’m not sure that score is a true reflection of how things went.
There were missed opportunities for England, including a missed review that would’ve yielded another wicket, and the tourists will feel their efforts deserved more.
There was certainly enough in this tiring surface to suggest the next few days might be hard work for the batsmen, and starting your innings in particular could be tough.
We saw that one wicket generally brought two on Tuesday, and armed with a relatively new ball still only 10 overs old, and refreshed legs, I think England can take wickets in the morning.
The harder the ball, the better for the bowlers on a slow surface like this, so England could quickly wrap up the Pakistan innings if able to strike early.
As such, I’m keen to bet on another collapse, with 5/2 (Sky Bet) about Pakistan’s first innings total finishing below 350 runs making plenty of appeal.
Posted at 1730 BST on 15/10/24
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