Pakistan vs England: Harry Brook & Joe Root set up victory charge
Brook's 317 Powers England To Victory
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Harry Brook and Joe Root partnered at the crease for over 86 overs.
Head Cricket Journalist in Multan
Day Four of the First Test in Multan
Pakistan scored 556 runs, with Masood contributing 151 runs. The team's score is currently at 152 for 6 wickets. Atkinson took 2 wickets for 28 runs.
England declared their innings at 823 runs for the loss of 7 wickets, with Brook scoring an impressive 317 runs and Root contributing 262 runs.
Pakistan is lagging behind by 115 runs.
Harry Brook made history by becoming the first England batsman in 34 years to score a triple-century in Test cricket during an impressive fourth day of play against Pakistan in Multan.
Brook, Joe Root, and the England team set numerous records, while the visiting fast bowlers proved formidable as they moved closer to what seems to be a certain win in the opening Test match.
Brook's score of 317 marks the sixth time an England player has surpassed 300 runs. Additionally, his 454-run partnership with Root, who scored 262, ranks as the fourth highest partnership for any wicket in cricket history.
The total of 823-7 is now the fourth highest score recorded in history and the largest achieved by England since 1938.
This meant that England had a 267-run lead, which is hard to grasp, especially since Pakistan scored 556 runs in their first innings.
Even with the numerous runs scored on the flat surface, Chris Woakes managed to send Abdullah Shafique's off stump flying with the very first delivery of Pakistan's second innings.
England dominated while Pakistan struggled. After the tea break, the home team fell apart, heading towards a crushing loss at 152-6, still 115 runs away from forcing England to bat again.
No team has ever scored as many runs in the first innings of a Test match and then ended up losing by an innings.
Two years ago, England achieved a remarkable 3-0 win in Pakistan, and they are set to capture another significant victory this Friday.
"Multan Madness: Records That Were Broken"
Brook made history by becoming the sixth English player to hit a triple century, the first one to do so since 1990. He achieved this remarkable feat in just 310 balls, marking it as the second-quickest 300 runs in cricket history.
The 454 runs that Root and Brook scored together for the fourth wicket marks England's top partnership for any wicket. It's also the fourth-best overall in Test cricket and the highest specifically for the fourth wicket.
Root's double century marked his sixth in Test matches, placing him second among English players, with only Wally Hammond ahead of him at seven.
This marked only the third time in Test history that two batters scored over 250 runs in the same innings, and it was the first time that this happened for England.
England’s declaration of 823-7 marks the fourth-largest team score in Test cricket history and is their highest total since they posted 903-7 declared against Australia at The Oval in 1938.
England's advantage of 267 runs is the highest achieved by any team in Test cricket history after allowing more than 550 runs in the first innings of a match.
Brook's Remarkable Place In History
In every possible way, this was an amazing day of Test cricket, one that set new records and pushed against long-standing milestones that have existed for many years.
Even on a pitch that has been unusually even for most of four days, and facing a Pakistan bowling lineup lacking bite without the sick spinner Abrar Ahmed, the runs made by Brook, Root, and the rest of the England team were remarkable.
The visitors put themselves in a strong position by reaching a score of 492-3 on the third day, marking a milestone for Root as he became England's highest run-scorer in Test matches.
Root increased his overnight score of 176 by 10 runs when he hit a shot off Naseem Shah towards mid-wicket. Unfortunately, Babar Azam dropped an easy catch. After that, Pakistan's performance fell apart, allowing England to score freely, and the chance of a rare triple-century started to look very achievable.
Brook, starting his innings at 141, surpassed his previous highest Test score of 186. A top-edge off Aamer Jamal narrowly avoided the fielder at square leg, and on the very next delivery, Brook executed a pull shot that pushed their partnership past England’s former record of 411 set by legends Colin Cowdrey and Peter May in 1957.
Root achieved another milestone in his impressive career, surpassing his previous highest score of 254. After spending ten hours at the wicket, he was ultimately dismissed by a low off-break delivery from Salman Agha.
Brook continuously showcased his skills, playing with the bowling in a mix of traditional and unconventional styles: cover drives, ramps, flicks, and footwork. Meanwhile, the Pakistan team struggled, plagued by misfields and errant throws, as their six bowlers each let more than 100 runs slip through.
It took just eight overs to score 79 runs alongside Jamie Smith. Brook made his way from 250 to 300 in a mere 29 deliveries, achieving a remarkable milestone in batting after hitting a straight four off Saim Ayub.
This marked the 32nd occurrence of a player scoring a triple century in Test cricket. Brook celebrated his achievement by saluting the dressing room and gazing up at the sky.
The 25-year-old appeared on track to break Sir Len Hutton's record of 364, which is the highest score by an England batsman. However, he ended up getting out after top-edging a sweep shot off Ayub. Despite this, he finished with the fifth-highest score recorded by an English player.
However, England wasn't finished just yet, becoming the fourth team to reach a score of 800. Captain Ollie Pope eventually called it a day just before the tea break.
Bowlers Propel England To Victory
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The pitch currently holds a PitchViz rating of 2.9, ranking it as the eighth least bouncy pitch for the first four days of a Test match in the ball-tracking era.
As Brook and Root were dominating Pakistan, it was hard not to ponder whether their efforts would end up being pointless.
Considering the condition of the pitch, it seemed like it would be a tough task for England to get Pakistan out again.
However, Pakistan, having lost all 10 of their home matches, showed weaknesses, and the pitch unexpectedly came to life. By the end of the day, the idea of an England win shifted from uncertain to looking quite likely.
Woakes delivered an amazing opening performance, targeting a gap that caused the ball to stay low and swing back in. Shafique was left in disbelief as his off stump was knocked to the ground.
Pakistan's captain, Shan Masood, had a challenging time when he was let off the hook twice—first by Woakes off Gus Atkinson's bowling, and then again by Atkinson when Woakes was bowling. Eventually, Atkinson managed to claim a leading edge, which Zak Crawley caught on the leg side.
The home team found themselves in a tough spot, trying to either get themselves out of trouble or hunker down. Atkinson delivered an impressive delivery that took the edge of Babar's bat, and on the very next ball, Ayub made a regrettable mistake by misplaying Carse, allowing Ben Duckett to make a great catch while running back from mid-off.
Mohammad Rizwan was bowled out by Carse, and Abrar was missing from the field, but England still let the chance for a four-day victory slip away from them.
Brook might be forgiven for his mistake while attempting to catch Jamal at gully, but Shoaib Bashir's failure to catch the same player at long leg was an easy opportunity he should have taken.
Jamal is still at 27 runs, while Salman has reached 41, leaving England waiting for a third consecutive victory in Test matches despite allowing their opponents to score over 500 runs.
"Root's Brilliance Set The Stage"
Former England fast bowler Steven Finn shared his thoughts on Test Match Special, saying, "Joe Root put in an incredible amount of running today. He had the tough task of forming solid partnerships with Zak Crawley and Ben Duckett, who was moved up to the number three position, a spot where he doesn't usually prefer to bat."
He needed to put in considerable effort at the beginning to counter Pakistan.
"Whenever Pakistan's energy increased, Root drained it from them, earning his chance to score those runs and paving the way for Harry Brook to deliver his performance."
"It was an amazing display of technique, focus, and talent from the subcontinent. It was fitting that he surpassed Sir Alastair Cook's record during that innings too."
England's Joe Root: "The team has really excelled over the past couple of days. That final session was quite an achievement."
"Getting all 10 wickets on a challenging pitch and placing ourselves in a strong position to potentially win the match tomorrow really highlights the team's hard work and our skill in making the most of the playing conditions."
