Pakistan’s failure on home soil continues as England win by 74 runs, Twitter reacts – Firstcricket News, Firstpost

England have started off their historic tour to Pakistan on a dominant note. The Three Lions took a 1-0 lead in the three-Test series, crushing the hosts by 74 runs in the opening Test today at the Pindi Cricket Stadium.

The Ben Stokes-led brigade outclassed Pakistan in every department following an explosive show by their batters in the first innings. Though Pakistan managed to recover from the early setback, an exceptional performance by the English bowling unit, led by James Anderson, ultimately snatched the game away on the final day.

Batting first, England took full advantage of Rawalpindi’s batting-friendly surface, producing a mammoth 657 runs in the first innings. As many as four batters- Zack Crawley (122), Ben Duckett (107), Ollie Pope (108), and Harry Brook (153) registered a century.

In reply, Pakistan came out all guns blazing with skipper Babar Azam leading from the front. Apart from Azam (136), Abdullah Shafique (114) and Imam-ul-Haq (121) notched up hundred-plus scores while Agha Salman (53) slammed a crucial half-century.

With a 74-run lead, England came in to bat in the third innings with a more aggressive approach. Even after losing a few early wickets, the Ben Stokes-led side put up 264 runs on the board, riding on contributions from Joe Root (73) and Brook (87), setting Pakistan a target of 343 runs. Pakistan batters could not pull off a good start to the chase as they lost three wickets at just 89 runs.

However, Saud Shakeel’s 76 and Mohammad Rizwan’s 46 brought Pakistan back into the encounter till the end of the second session on Day 5, with the game heading to a draw.

After the tea break, a fiery pace attack from Anderson and Ollie Robinson did not permit the remaining batters to stay long on the pitch. Both the bowlers completed their fourth-innings spells with four wickets each.

England’s victory in the first game of the historic series has already earned many plaudits from all corners of the globe. Even after 17 years since their last fixture in Pakistan, the Englishmen seemed well-adjusted to the conditions and recorded a big win.

A user lauded the captaincy of Ben Stokes and stated, “Ben Stokes is special. What a Comeback after the 2016 T20 WC. Gave Pakistan the equal chance to win the match today and it was the battle between the Brave and the Defence. Not a tough task to guess who was going to win.”

A cricket enthusiast shared an interesting fact, “Pakistani captains to lose a Test match in Pakistan against both Australia and England: Imtiaz Ahmed in 1959 & 1961, Babar Azam in 2022. Babar Azam becomes the first Pakistani captain to lose a Test in Pakistan vs both Australia and England in 61 years.”

Referring to the nail-biting affair, a user said, “England vs Pakistan always produces one of the most interesting matches.”

Hailing England’s “Bazball” cricket, a person explained that McCullum and Stokes seem to have instilled not only an attacking approach in Test cricket but also a winning mentality.

A disheartened Pakistani fan wrote that PCB made a dead pitch due to the fear of defeat, but  English pacers blew 9 wickets and won the match.

Here are some other reactions:

https://twitter.com/Spenses01/status/1599735922291277825

Pakistan will aim to turn the table around when they square off against England for the second Test beginning on 9 December at the Multan Cricket Stadium.

Read all the Latest News, Trending News, Cricket News, Bollywood News, India News and Entertainment News here. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.