Up until this point in the first Test match between Pakistan and England, an enormous amount of runs had been scored. Several cricket analysts and commentators have expressed their opinions about the track, calling it a batter’s paradise, ever since the first session of the first day of the first Test in Multan. And as predicted, it has lived up to the tag; as of the end of Day 4 of the match, nearly 1500 runs have been scored in 12 sessions.
The match will be remembered for the incredible 454-run stand that Joe Root (262) and Harry Brook (317) put up for the fourth wicket, even though Pakistan only managed to score 556. Adding oneself to the roster of previous One cricketer who criticised the surface today was Nasser Hussain, a former captain of England. Because of how batting-friendly the track had been, Hussain made an absurd recommendation during an official broadcast.
“If a batsman misses three balls, he should be declared out on this track,” stated Hussain.
Hussain was quick to voice his dissatisfaction in his column following the play of Day 2, citing the track’s “incredibly flat” nature as the reason why bowlers had little to work with.
“It is not feasible for Test cricket to use this surface in the same manner for the entire five days. Pitch decks need to take action because they are really flat and will affect the longer format in the future. It hasn’t done anything for the past two days. No backward swing, no spin, and no swing. In his Daily Mail piece, Nasser stated, “It is too batter-friendly and Test cricket needs an even contest between bat and ball.”
The incredibly passive nature of the ground cannot be disregarded, even though Pakistan managed to accumulate 70 runs without losing any more wickets after dropping six wickets for just 82 runs in their second innings. More often than not, the batsmen’ poor shots were the primary cause of the majority of wickets that dropped during the game.
