The poor quality of the surface at Rawalpindi cast a shadow on the opening Test between Pakistan and England. The surface has been criticized for being overly batting-friendly and providing too few chances for the bowlers by several cricket experts and fans. While England scored a massive 657 (with four batsmen reaching a century), Pakistan only managed 499/7 by the conclusion of Day 3.
Pakistan’s Abdullah Shafique, Imam-ul-Haq, and Babar Azam all struck hundreds in the first innings of their game against England. Nonetheless, former Pakistani wicketkeeper and batsman Kamran Akmal has made a very robust allegation about his country’s strategy.
According to Akmal, the batters in this Test might perhaps attempt to break the record for the greatest individual score ever in a Test.
Akmal said that England made these runs in just 4 innings. They continued to lose wickets but kept scoring. They came on the tour of Pakistan and taught Pakistani batsmen how to play. Akmal also added that in the manner in which the pitch is made, some batsmen would have registered some big records. Brian Lara got one such pitch and he played a 400 runs inning.
“Unhone sava din me itne runs bana liye. Vo out ho rahe the par scoreboard nahi ruk raha tha. Vo Pakistan aake hamein bata rahe hain ki Test cricket kaise khelna chahiye. Ye jaisi wicket bani hai, record banna chahiye tha kisi batsman ka. Aisi wicket Brian Lara ko mili thi, usne 400 run banaaye the. Inn batsmen ke paas bhi talent tha ki vo bana sakte the. (England made so many runs in almost 1.15 days. They were getting out but continued scoring. They came to Pakistan and taught us how to play. But the way this wicket is made, some batsman should have made a record. Brian Lara got such wicket and he scored 400. These batsmen also have the talent to make that record),” Akmal said on his official YouTube channel.
Jack Leach (2/160) and Jacks (3/132) of the England spin attack have taken five wickets between them, while the debuting spinner Zahid Mahmood of Pakistan has taken four wickets late in England’s innings despite giving up a lot of runs.
In the meanwhile, Joe Root made it clear that England wasn’t interested in a tie and had no intention of allowing this match to go out of hand.
