England national cricket team led by Ben Stokes won the toss and chose to bat first against Pakistan in the first of the three-match historic Test series. England players are playing their first Test in Pakistan after 17 years.
It will be quite interesting to see which team uses their tools and resources to take the first lead in the series. Earlier, both teams locked horns with each other in the seven-match T20I series ahead of the T20 World Cup 2022.
The T20I series turned out to be a spectacular and promising contest as both teams took turns outsmarting the other in one game after the other. In the end, Moeen Ali and Co won the series by 4-3.
Zak Crawley smashes a hundred off 86 balls against Pakistan on Day 1 of the first Test in Rawalpindi
England openers Zak Crawley and Ben Duckett got off to a scintillating start to the game as they took the game away from the opposition from the word go.
The right and left-hand combination worked wonders for England as the duo tore Pakistan’s bowling unit apart by scoring runs pretty quickly. The duo added a 233-run stand for the first wicket before Zahid Mahmood trapped Ben Duckett for an lbw on 107.
Duckett smashed 15 boundaries during his stay at the crease. On the other hand, Zak Crawley notched up a brilliant century off just 86 balls against the hosts.
The right-handed batter constructed his innings with the help of 21 boundaries. He is batting on 120 off 106 balls at a pretty good strike rate of 113.21.
Pakistan’s playing XI
Abdullah Shafique, Imam-ul-Haq, Azhar Ali, Babar Azam (c), Saud Shakeel, Mohammad Rizwan (wk), Agha Salman, Naseem Shah, Haris Rauf, Mohammad Ali, Zahid Mahmood
England’s playing XI
Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Ollie Pope (wk), Joe Root, Harry Brook, Ben Stokes (c), Liam Livingstone, Will Jacks, Jack Leach, Ollie Robinson, James Anderson
Here’s how Twitterati reacted to Zak Crawley’s wonderful century against Pakistan on Day 1 of the first Test
I thought T20 WC is over 😬 #PakvsEng2022 https://t.co/tly0XGDI9h
— A.J. (@beingabhi2712) December 1, 2022
Crawely against Pakistan against other team https://t.co/7fLQcB70oi pic.twitter.com/VLddQZmWLT
— Akanksha Yadav 🇮🇳❤️ (@AKANKSH48278581) December 1, 2022
minnow basher only bashes pakistan 🤨 https://t.co/6VAQCTRi49
— Aliiiiii (@AleyFarooq_) December 1, 2022
Pak Crawley https://t.co/0JDXv8ffhg
— Casual Spontaneity (@AssumingDaBest) December 1, 2022
is it in danger ? pic.twitter.com/Tr5QnkrkJW
— Akshat (@AkshatOM10) December 1, 2022
Pakistan waiting first wicket for long time pic.twitter.com/jghkkRoPsW
— Subhankar Roy (@Subhank61898379) December 1, 2022
I haven't seen Don Bradman while batting but I am lucky enough to see Zak Crawley against Pakistan. pic.twitter.com/oFHKF521lQ
— 💥 (@Anonymous169f) December 1, 2022
