The first Test between Pakistan and England is officially underway at the Multan Cricket Stadium! Pakistan, having won the toss, has elected to bat first. Captain Shan Masood expressed his team’s determination to secure a victory after a series of close losses. He emphasized the need to turn those near-misses into wins, stating, “We have been in winning positions and not won from there. It has caused some hurt amongst the team and the cricket fraternity. We want to get back to winning ways and hopefully these bunch of guys can do that.”
England’s stand-in captain Ollie Pope spoke about the team’s preparedness for the challenging conditions. “The conditions are hot, the hottest I might have played in,” Pope said. He also revealed his strategy, stating, “I would have batted first as well. There is a little bit of moisture and hopefully we can make use of that in the first hour.”
Pope also expressed excitement about Brydon Carse’s debut in Test cricket. “He has played some white-ball cricket for England and now we are excited to see how he goes about in Test cricket.”
Both teams boast formidable batting line-ups, making for an exciting contest. Keep tuned to Sportstar for live updates and analysis throughout the match!
Here are the playing XI for both teams:
Pakistan:
Saim Ayub, Abdullah Shafique, Shan Masood (c), Babar Azam, Saud Shakeel, Mohammad Rizwan (wk), Agha Salman, Aamer Jamal, Shaheen Afridi, Naseem Shah, Abrar Ahmed.
England:
Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Ollie Pope (c), Joe Root, Harry Brook, Jamie Smith (wk), Chris Woakes, Gus Atkinson, Brydon Carse, Jack Leach, Shoaib Bashir.
