England masterclass in controversial Multan pitch

MULTAN: The Pakistan Cricket Board. alleged to have made changes to the Multan pitch, and got a taste of their own medicine after England unleashed a batting masterclass, putting the home team into silence. Batting first and scoring 556 runs, England is giving Pak bowlers a run for their money.

When play was stopped on the third day, the visitors were 492 for loss of just three wickets. England, who stopped play at 96 for one wicket on the second day, scored 396 runs for the loss of just two wickets on the third day.

Joe Root (176*) and Harry Brook (141*) smashed centuries to gift a gargantuan total for the team. Earlier, Zak Crowley (78) and Ben Duckett (84) scored half-centuries and got out. Shaheen Shah Afridi, Naseem Shah and Amir Jamal took one wicket each for Pakistan. Mystery spinner Abrar Ahmed was thrashed mercilessly by England's batting line-up. England batsmen scored 174 runs against the player who bowled 35 overs.

After losing the test against Bangladesh, Pakistan made changes in the Multan pitch, courting serious controversy. The pitch was transformed into a batting-conducive, but the result now has gone awry with England making the most of the change.

Former England players Michael Vaughan and Kevin Pietersen had come forward to criticize the pitch in Multan. The legends arraigned PCB and scoffed saying the game would have been better if played on a highway rather than the Multan pitch.