MULTAN: Pakistan captain Shan Masood on Monday led the national side from the front, scoring a crucial century on the opening day of the first Test against England.

After winning the toss and electing to bat first, opener Saim Ayub (4) departed earlier after getting caught behind against Gus Atkinson. However, Masood and Shafique’s 114-run stand steered the national side to 122-1 at lunch.

The match, first of the three-match series, is being played at the Multan Cricket Stadium and is part of the ICC World Test Championship 2023-25.

During the match today, Masood was given a lbw after a delivery by Brydon Carse in the debutant seamer’s second over, but the batter reviewed the decision and got it overturned after replays confirmed the ball had pitched outside the leg stump.

Currently, the score is 189-1 with Masood (109*) and Shafique (72*) on the crease.

Shafique got a reprieve on 35 when he went for a risky single and England’s stand-in captain Ollie Pope’s direct throw narrowly missed the stumps.

England’s regular captain Ben Stokes missed the test with a hamstring injury.

It is to be noted that England are being led by Ollie Pope in the first Test after the visitors’ captain Ben Stokes was ruled out of the contest due to a hamstring injury in the Hundred League.

Moreover, James Anderson, is not accompanying the team on their tour of Pakistan, as he is participating in the Scotland’s Alfred Dunhill Links Championship.

The last time England were in Pakistan for a red-ball series, they handed a 3-0 defeat to the national side back in 2022.

Before that, the visitors had played 24 Tests in Pakistan, winning just two out of them making the 3-0 win much more remarkable.

Playing XI

Pakistan: Shan Masood (captain), Saud Shakeel (vice-captain), Saim Ayub, Abdullah Shafique, Babar Azam, Mohammad Rizwan (wicket-keeper), Salman Ali Agha, Aamir Jamal, Shaheen Afridi, Naseem Shah, Abrar Ahmad

England: Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Ollie Pope (captain), Joe Root, Harry Brook, Jamie Smith, Chris Woakes, Gus Atkinson, Brydon Carse, Jack Leach, Shoaib Bashir