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Abdullah Shafique smashed Shoaib Bashir for a six to get to his half-century on Day 1 of the opening Test between Pakistan and England in Multan on Monday, October 7. The right-handed batter went down the track for a maximum when batting on 47.
He reached the milestone in the 24th over of Pakistan’s first innings. Bashir bowled a length ball and Shafique came down the track and got to the pitch of the ball before playing the lofted shot sailing over long-on. He raised his bat to acknowledge the applause.
Watch the video below (from 0:16 onwards):
With his half-century, Abdullah Shafique returned to form after managing a string of low scores in his last seven Test innings. The scores read 3, 0, 37, 2, 0, 0 and 4, respectively. The 24-year-old would now look to get to a big score against England.
Abdullah Shafique and Shan Masood provide a promising start for Pakistan vs England in 1st Test
Abdullah Shafique and Shan Masood gave a promising start for Pakistan after they won the toss and elected to bat against England. After Gus Atkinson dismissed Saim Ayub cheaply, the duo shared an unbeaten 116-run partnership for the second wicket.
At the time of writing, the hosts were 122/1 at Lunch on Day 1.
Pakistan would be keen to return to winning ways after losing the two-match Test series 0-2 against Bangladesh. The Men in Green have lost five home Tests in a row. They have failed to win a Test at home in their last 10 games.
On the other hand, England are coming on the back of a 2-1 series win against Sri Lanka. Ollie Pope is leading the visitors again after regular skipper Ben Stokes failed to recover from his hamstring injury. The ace all-rounder had also missed the Test series against Lanka.
England had won their previous Test series in Pakistan by a 3-0 margin. They would be keen to replicate their performance this time around as well.
Follow the PAK vs ENG 1st Test live score and updates here.
