Watch: Mohammad Rizwan survives as Ben Stokes and Co. fail to spot edge

Mohammad Rizwan and Ben Stokes. (Source – Twitter/X)

Pakistan and England are tussling in the second Test at the Multan Cricket Stadium. On Day 1 of the Test, England exerted some pressure by picking Saud Shakeel and Kamran Ghulam’s wickets as the day’s end was nearby. The English had one more opportunity, created by Matthew Potts, which they could not capitalise upon. 

The opportunity arose in the 69th over when Potts bowled a length ball on the off-stump and Rizwan, who was struggling to find a base, outside edged the ball. Though the ball created some noise as it passed the right-handed batter’s bat, it was not enough for wicketkeeper Jamie Smith and captain Ben Stokes to send the decision upstairs.

Here’s the video of the incident:

Eventually, Rizwan emained unbeaten with Agha Salman as Pakistan ended Day 1 on 259/5. Prior to Rizwan’s arrival, Saim Ayub scored a gritty 77 after losing his opening partner Abdullah Shafique for just seven runs. But it was debutant Kamran who stole the show with a ton on debut, scoring 118 off 224 balls. 

We have some decent spinners in the line-up: Shan Masood 

The second Test is being played at the same venue as the first one and even on the same pitch. This is the first time in history when back-to-back matches are being played on the same deck, at the same venue. Pakistan, who requested for a flat deck in the first Test, opted to go spin-heavy in the second with just one specialist pacer.

Also Read: Basit Ali lashes out at Pakistan’s pitch curator Tony Hemming

“We are happy that the spinners have some conditions where we can actually show that we have some decent spinners in the line-up. So, the onus and responsibility is on them. The main task in Test cricket is to take 20 wickets and hopefully we can do that,” said Shan Masood at the toss.