Babar Azam’s Pakistan made a roaring comeback in the 2nd Test against England in Multan, bowling out the hosts for 281 in a couple of sessions on Friday. Young spinner Abrar Ahmed was the star of the first day, picking up 7 wickets on his debut game against a full-strength English side. He returned figures of 7 for 114, making it only the second-best debut by a Pakistan bowler only Mohammad Zahid’s 7-66 against New Zealand in Rawalpindi in 1996.
Pakistan skipper employed spin as early as in the ninth over and the move paid off rich dividends. Abrar simply launched a brutal assault on the English batters as his phenomenal bowling show made him the second bowler to scalp five wickets before lunch on the opening day of his Test debut. West Indies’ Alf Valentine was the first-ever player to achieve the feat, back in 1950 against England in Manchester. The 24-year-old is now the 13th Pakistan bowler to take five or more wickets in an innings on debut.
Abrar opened his account in international cricket by knocking over Zak Crawley for 19.
The mystery spinner then went on to prey on the likes of Ben Duckett, Ollie Pope, Joe Root, Harry Brook, captain Ben Stokes and lastly, Will Jacks. Out of his 7 victims, 2 were clean bowled, including the opposition captain while 3 of them were trapped in front.
Stokes was completely stunned with the way he lost his wicket to the debutant. Abrar bowled a googly which landed on leg-stump and spun away. The England skipper bent forward for the defence but was beaten by the turn and got knocked over completely.
Earlier this morning, the debutant received from team bowling coach Saqlain Mushtaq, one of the finest spin bowlers to have played for Pakistan.
For England, Ben Duckett (63) and Ollie Pope (60) were the main run scorers in an England innings that finished at the stroke of tea, after skipper Ben Stokes won the toss and decided to bat. England, on their first tour of Pakistan since 2005, lead the three-match series 1-0 after winning the first Test in Rawalpindi by 74 runs.
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