Pakistan 259 for 5 (Ghulam 118, Ayub 77) vs England

Although he fell for 118 late in the day, bowled by Shoaib Bashir as he looked to remain proactive with the end of the match in sight, Ghulam’s debut efforts helped lift Pakistan to 259 for 5 – hardly riches by the standards England dished out. this same surface last week, but still the beginning of a score.

All such considerations can now wait, thanks to the efforts of Ghulam, who at 29 became the second-oldest Pakistani to record a debut century. He achieved this feat with a cheerful sweep through the leg side of Joe Root, after an anxious wait in the 1990s that included the evening drinks. However, a few more moments of delay could not unsettle him, after more than a decade of service in Pakistan’s Quaid-e-Azam Trophy, during which he could have assumed that his catch of over 4,500 runs at 49 would be overlooked forever would be seen. .

His innings had started at 19 for 2 in the tenth over, after Leach – bowled the ball early after Stokes’ quick assessment of the surface – had become the first English spinner to strike twice so early in a Test match since Johnny Briggs in 1889. impact threatened another meltdown, akin to Pakistan’s collapse on the fourth night of the first Test, but Ghulam proved his mettle from the start, showing his familiarity with the arid conditions and his confidence in the methods that eventually got him noticed.

His first boundary was a calm launch for six back over the head of Leach, and when he came from 104 balls to his first half-century he recorded a milestone that had eluded his more illustrious compatriot, Babar Azam, in the 18th century. form innings that had led to his omission.

However, Ghulam had faced just two quick bowlings in his first 120, when Stokes brought himself into the attack in mid-afternoon, and the challenge immediately went up a notch. In his first over, Stokes found a thick edge that flew through the empty slip cordon at a reachable height, and when a second edge fell short shortly afterwards, Root found himself donning a helmet four yards from the bat in an attempt to get even further . chance counts.

However, the breakthrough came at the other end. Ayub’s reputation had suffered in this series, largely due to his woefully unsuccessful opening partnership with Abdullah Shafique, which reached double figures for the first time in nine innings at least. Things didn’t get much further though as Leach bowled Shafique for 7 to reduce Pakistan to 15 for 1, before Shan Masood hammered the lead to Zak Crawley at midwicket for 3.

On his own merits, however, Ayub was a qualified success at the top of the Pakistani rankings, and this was his third half-century in four first innings, following his double fifties against Bangladesh last month. But with tea approaching and England starting to let the ball talk, Matthew Potts threatened his outside edge with a diet of outswingers from across the wicket, before Stokes made a solid push through the line on a very straight, silly mid-off ( 168 for 3).

After tea, Brydon Carse, energetic as ever, beat Saud Shakeel with an excellent short ball and then found his lead for 4 with an even better 90mph that trickled through to Jamie Smith behind the stumps. And England’s position could have been even stronger had Ben Duckett latched on to a loose blow from Ghulam, on 79, when he opted to attack the returning Leach and almost paid the price at half-time.

The value of Stokes’ economy with his seams in a morning session was evident in the evening, with Carse helping to keep Rizwan under cosh for 19 deliveries without scoring before Potts took over and almost pulled off an innings-changing blow. His first delivery to Rizwan, then on 6, flew past the outside edge and into Smith’s gloves, but England refused to use a review – even though replays showed the ball had grazed the fork of his bat.

England’s efforts were worth another breakthrough before the end, and although he had once again been the weaker link in the attack, Bashir made a critical strike late in the day. Armed with the second new ball, he slipped a big delivery past Ghulam’s tired attack and clipped the top of his leg to force a crucial opening that could yet make the difference in Pakistan’s quest for a serviceable first innings.