PAK vs ENG, 1st Test: It was absolute carnage at Rawalpindi when England started their batting innings against Pakistan. On the eve of the 1st Test match, they were struggling to field a proper eleven with a virus breaking out in the English side, but when the Test match started, England were all over Pakistan. This was England's first visit to Pakistan since 2005 as far as a Test series is concerned. Pakistan had played against England in the world T20 finals, and when the first Test match began, better things were expected of them.
English batsmen Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Ollie Pope, and Harry Brook scored blistering tons and tried to bat Pakistan out of the game. As far as Pakistan's bowling is considered, they looked under the pump, most of them have been bowling in the T20I format and things certainly took a turn for them when the Test match started. Speedsters Haris Rauf and Naseem Shah tried their very best, but they could not contain the English batsman who were in a rampant mode. It was speedster Zahid Mahmood in particular who took most of the beating. The 34-year-old leggie was belted for 235 runs. He certainly took 4 wickets in 33 overs, but the English batsmen cherished batting against him.
The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) in particular has been facing a lot of criticism, from the fans, experts, and the media. Their former player Shoaib Akhtar in particular was extremely miffed and blamed the playing conditions. The 'Rawalpindi Express' highlighted certain issues and what went wrong with the planning part. He felt that Pakistan did not play to their potential and strength. He publically backed the bowlers and asked them to keep toiling hard and reap results for them. England finished the first day with a huge total of 506/4. It is not only just Akhtar, but the netizens are also fuming over the Pakistan team and this time around the Indians have joined them too.
