It has been precious little to cheer for Pakistan cricket of late, but on the opening day of the second Test in Multan, Kamran Ghulam provided a moment of unbridled joy as he brought up a gutsy century in his maiden Test innings, to carry the fight for his embattled team.
Even though he fell late in the day for 118, bowled by Shoaib Bashir as he looked to stay proactive with the close of play looming, Ghulam’s debut efforts helped to lift Pakistan to 259 for 5 – scarcely riches by the standards that England were dishing up on this very same surface last week, but the beginnings of a score nonetheless.
First Test Nightmare
Despite Pakistan’s first Test experience of having their first-innings 556 reduced to the wrong side of an innings defeat, Ghulam’s resolute efforts – allied to a career-best 77 from Saim Ayub and an atypically entrenched 37 not out from Mohammad Rizwan – kept Pakistan on course for the sort of 300-plus score that could yet be competitive if their spin-heavy attack can take advantage of a pitch that had been heavily watered and dried with industrial fans in the four-day turnaround between Tests.
But the danger for Pakistan still may come from weapons that they won’t be able to deploy. After two early wickets for Jack Leach – nine in three innings on this surface to reassert his status as England’s senior spinner – their most pronounced threat came through a mid-afternoon spell of reverse-swing, excellently harnessed by a three-pronged seam attack. Uniquely, all three are from Durham, one of them Ben Stokes, who returns to lead for the first time since August and the hamstring tear. An interesting choice to leave out both Shaheen Shah Afridi and Naseem Shah for this one, much rested on their sole quick, Aamer Jamal, if Pakistan have any chance at all to emulate the skills.
Kamran Ghulam Heroics
All such thoughts can be kept aside for now thanks to the endeavors of Ghulam who, at the age of 29 years, was the second-oldest Pakistani to record a debut century. He attained the feat with a swing of glee down the leg-side off Joe Root, after an anxious wait in the 90’s which also included the evening drinks break. A few more overs of this sort of languor would not have bothered him, though, after more than a decade’s service in Pakistan’s Quaid-e-Azam Trophy, in which time he may have thought his total of more than 4500 runs at 49 would last him forever unmourned.
His innings had begun at 19 for 2 in the tenth over, after Leach-thrown the ball early after Stokes’ quick assessment of the surface-had become the first England spinner to strike twice so early in a Test match since Johnny Briggs in 1889. His influence looked as though it might produce another such implosion as in the fourth-evening collywobbles of Pakistan’s first Test, but Ghulam showed he was made of sterner stuff from the off, revealing his acquaintance with the dry conditions and his belief in the techniques that had at last caught someone’s eye.
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His first boundary was a composed launch for six back over Leach’s head, and in easing through to his first half-century from 104 balls, he recorded a milestone that had eluded his more illustrious compatriot, Babar Azam, in the 18 out-of-form innings that had resulted in his omission.
Ghulam had faced just two deliveries of fast bowling in his first 120, though, when Stokes brought himself into the attack midway through the afternoon, and the challenge instantly went up a notch. In his first over Stokes found a fat edge that flew at a catchable height through the vacant slip cordon, and when a second edge fell short soon afterwards, Root found himself donning a helmet four yards from the bat in a bid to make any further chance count.
At the other end, though, came the breakthrough. Ayub’s reputation had taken a beating in this series largely due to his hopelessly misfiring opening partnership with Abdullah Shafique, which at least reached double-figure for the first time in nine innings. It did not get much further than that, though, as Leach bowled Shafique for 7 to reduce Pakistan to 15 for 1, before Shan Masood clipped on the up to Zak Crawley at midwicket for 3.
In isolation, though, Ayub has been a qualified success at the top of Pakistan’s order, and this was his third half-century in four first innings, following his twin fifties against Bangladesh last month. But, with tea approaching, and England beginning to make the ball talk, Matthew Potts threatened his outside edge with a diet of hooping outswingers from over the wicket, before Stokes pouched a firm push through the line at a very straight silly mid-off (168 for 3).
Following tea, Brydon Carse, in never-the-slowest form, bashed Saud Shakeel around with an excellent short ball, and received his recompense with an even finer 140kph/87mph delivery that fizzled through to Jamie Smith behind the stumps. But the position could have been stronger than it is had Ben Duckett clung on to a loose slap from Ghulam, on 79, as he took the attack to the returning Leach and almost paid the price at mid-on.
Of the value stored by Stokes in his seamers through a morning session, a residue remained into the evening as Carse helped keep Rizwan under the cosh for 19 deliveries without scoring before Potts took over and so nearly landed an innings-altering blow. His first delivery to Rizwan, on 6 at the time, zipped past the outside edge and into Smith’s gloves, but England refused to use a review – even though replays showed that the ball had grazed the splice of his bat.
England were worth another breakthrough before close, and though again the weaker link in the attack, Bashir obliged with a critical strike late in the day. Armed with the second new ball, he skidded a good-length delivery past Ghulam’s tired charge, and clipped the top of leg to prise a critical opening that could yet make the difference in Pakistan’s quest for a serviceable first innings.
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