England ended Day 3 of the first Test against Pakistan in a dominant position, reaching 492/3, thanks to an unbeaten century from Joe Root and a stellar knock by Harry Brook. The pair’s formidable partnership left Pakistan trailing by 64 runs when play concluded on Wednesday.
Joe Root, England’s former Test captain, was the standout performer, scoring a magnificent 176 not out. Root, alongside Brook, took full advantage of the flat pitch at Multan Cricket Stadium. Brook also showcased his class, remaining unbeaten on 141 by the end of the day’s play. Together, the duo struck 12 boundaries and a six to keep the scoreboard ticking at a brisk pace.
Earlier in the day, Root reached his 65th Test fifty, later surviving a close LBW shout. With this innings, the 33-year-old moved past Alastair Cook’s record to enter the top five all-time leading run-scorers, behind legends like Rahul Dravid, Jacques Kallis, Ricky Ponting, and Sachin Tendulkar.
Harry Brook’s century came off 118 balls, marking his sixth overall in Test cricket and his fourth against Pakistan. He brought up the milestone in the 84th over, striking eight boundaries and a six, continuing his prolific run in the series.
England started the day on 96-1, following Pakistan’s massive first innings score of 556. Zak Crawley, who played a solid knock of 78, was dismissed early in the session when he flicked a delivery from Shaheen Afridi straight to Aamer Jamal at mid-wicket. This ended a 109-run partnership for the second wicket, but England maintained their aggressive approach.
Ben Duckett, who had been sidelined briefly after dislocating his thumb while fielding, showed no signs of injury when he came to the crease. He launched an aggressive counter-attack, smashing three boundaries in the 30th over, temporarily forcing Pakistan’s spinner Abrar Ahmed out of the attack. Duckett brought up his half-century off just 45 balls as England’s run-rate stayed above five per over.
Despite dismissing three English players—Crawley, Duckett, and Ollie Pope—Pakistan struggled to contain England’s batsmen. Shaheen Afridi, Naseem Shah, and Aamer Jamal picked up one wicket each, but England remained firmly in control heading into Day 4.
Playing XIs
Pakistan: Shan Masood (c), Saud Shakeel (vc), Saim Ayub, Abdullah Shafique, Babar Azam, Mohammad Rizwan (wk), Salman Ali Agha, Aamer Jamal, Shaheen Afridi, Naseem Shah, Abrar Ahmed.
England: Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Ollie Pope (c), Joe Root, Harry Brook, Jamie Smith, Chris Woakes, Gus Atkinson, Brydon Carse, Jack Leach, Shoaib Bashir.