Abrar Ahmed limits England to 281 with 7-114 in debut test
Unheralded Pakistan spinner Abrar Ahmed bagged a rich haul of 7-114 in a dream debut to dismiss England for 281 inside the two sessions of the second Test on Friday.
The 24-year-old Ahmed mystified England on a turning wicket at the Multan Cricket Stadium after not getting picked for the opening Test at Rawalpindi, which Pakistan lost by 74 runs. Leg-spinner Zahid Mahmood finished off the England tail just before tea to end up with 3-63 after Ahmed had sliced through the top-order with the visitors continuing to bat in their own brand of aggressive cricket and scored at a rate of 5.43.
Ben Duckett (63) and Ollie Pope (60) both scored rapid half centuries before falling to Ahmed in the first session as the legspinner became only the second bowler in test history to pick up five wickets before lunch in his debut test.
Leftarm spinner Alf Valentine of the West Indies was the other bowler to do so when he debuted against England at Manchester in 1950.
Ahmed struck off his fifth ball as captain Babar Azam turned to his mystery spinner as early as in the ninth over after Ben Stokes won the toss and elected to bat.
Ahmed challenged Englands aggression through his variety of bowling on a wicket offering plenty of assistance to the spinners from the onset and wasnt afraid to lure the England batters through his variations.
Zak Crawley (19) was baffled by Ahmeds sharp delivery which jagged back into him and knocked back his stumps and then the leg-spinner successfully won lbw decisions against Duckett and Joe Root (8) through television referrals.
Duckett and Pope combined in a 79-run stand off 61 balls and briefly dominated even Ahmed through their extravagant reverse sweep shots before the bowler broke through soon after Duckett had completed his half century.
All-rounder Faheem Ashraf and Ahmed were two of the three changes Pakistan had to make after fast bowlers Haris Rauf and Naseem Shah both were ruled out with injuries, and the home team also dropped experienced No. 3 batter Azhar Ali because of lack of form and brought in allrounder Mohammad Nawaz.
England didnt slow down and its fearless approach to score at a rapid pace cost them when Pope was caught at point while going for a reverse sweep and Harry Brook gave a skied shot to Nawaz at mid-off against Ahmed as England reached 180-5 in an extended 2 1/2 first sessions due to Friday prayers.
Captain Stokes (30) and Will Jacks (31) added 61 runs but Ahmed continued to strike after lunch by removing both batters in his successive overs. Stokes was baffled by a Ahmeds sharp turner that hit the lefthanders off stump and Jacks was trapped leg before wicket.
Mark Wood, the only change England made to its playing XI, struck eight fours in his unbeaten 36 off 27 balls to underline Englands aggressive batting throughout before Mahmood wrapped up Englands innings quickly.
Wood, playing his first test since March, replaced injured Liam Livingstone after the allrounder flew back home after injuring his knee during the first Test. AP KHSKHS
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