A partnership of 253 runs between Masood (151) and opener Abdullah Shafique (102), who put in a solid century, helped Pakistan end Day One of the first Test against England on 328-4 in 86 overs at the Multan Cricket Stadium on Monday. With the sun shining brightly and the pitch very placid, by the time stumps were called, the day belonged to Pakistan. For England, it was a day of working very hard and running after leather, although Gus Atkinson managed two wickets.
Saim Ayub was caught down leg by Atkinson, playing his first overseas Test match, in the fourth over and then it was a game of endurance for him and the other bowlers as Shafique and Masood mounted aggressive and dominant batting moves in 56.1 overs for Pakistan, who are eyeing to achieve their maiden Test win on home turf since February 2021.
The difference was that while Masood was the aggressor in getting his century after last reaching the three-figure mark during the Covid-19 disruption in 2020 - when Pakistan toured England, Shafique had to be cautious at the start before finding his groove to get his Test century.
Pakistan also had some luck on their side - Masood had his lbw decision against England debutant pacer Brydon Carse overturned via review on 16 and went on to score his maiden Test hundred as the team's captain.
Shafique, who recorded six single-digit scores in his last seven Test innings, survived a run-out attempt on 34 when stand-in skipper Ollie Pope missed the chance to dismiss him and marched forward to end his lean run with a three-figure score.
Just when it looked like the set batters, who were struggling with cramps, would remain unbeaten till the end of the day, they fell in the space of 17 balls - Shafique was dismissed by Atkinson, while Masood fell to a returning Jack Leach. An inventive Saud Shakeel and Babar Azam added 61 runs for the fourth wicket off 132 balls before the latter was trapped lbw by Chris Woakes.
Shakeel remained not out on 35 along with nightwatchman Naseem Shah, and Pakistan would look for him and the other batsmen to score further on Day Two after Shafique and Masood put in the foundation for a colossal first-innings total with their sparkling hundreds.
Brief scores:
Pakistan 328/4 in 86 overs (Shan Masood 151, Abdullah Shafique 102; Gus Atkinson 2-70) against England.
