Thursday’s opening day of the historic Rawalpindi Test, which saw England’s Test team return to Pakistan after a 17-year break, was attended by President Arif Alvi.
The first Test being played at Pindi Cricket Stadium is being played by England, which last played a Test match on Pakistani soil back in 2005.
As he arrived at the stadium for the first day of the first Test between the two teams, President Alvi praised this significant moment for Pakistani cricket. The president was greeted upon arrival by Ramiz Raja, the chairman of the Pakistan Cricket Board.
Christian Turner, the British High Commissioner, also watched the events of England Cricket’s record-breaking day.
Ruthless England Batters Set Various Records On Opening Day Of Rawalpindi Test
On the first day of the Rawalpindi Test, England raised a remarkable 506/4 before stumps, breaking several records as they baton-charged Pakistan.
English openers Zak Crawley and Ben Duckett put on a massive 233 runs partnership as both reached hundreds, laying the groundwork for an extraordinarily comprehensive first day victory over Pakistan.
In the course of their stand, the pair faced Pakistani bowlers, breaking numerous records in the process.
Since achieving his career-best 267 against Pakistan in August 2020, Crawley had been having a difficult time, but he found his form by scoring his third century overall. The quickest Test cricket century by an English opener was scored by him in 86 balls.
Crawley and Duckett set a record for the fastest double century by any duo in Test cricket during their 233-run opening stand, which took just 183 balls to complete.
Read More: Pak vs Eng: 14 members of England squad ‘affected by virus’
Crawley and Duckett earlier gave England a head starts by scoring 174 runs in the first session, the most ever in the opening phase of a Test match.
For the first time ever in an England Test match, both of the openers scored a fifty off the same number of balls or fewer (Crawley 38 balls and Duckett 50 balls). The first over of the game saw England score 14 runs, which was a record for them in a Test match.
Harry Brook ignited the Pindi Cricket Stadium after the openers’ magic with a quickfire century on just 80 balls, the third fastest for England in Test cricket.
For the first time in Test cricket history, Ollie Pope, Crawley, Duckett, and Brook all scored hundreds on the opening day of the match, making it the first time in history that four batters had scored centuries.
Even though poor lighting limited play to 75 overs on the first day, their centuries helped England raise a massive 506/4. However, England was able to score enough runs to beat a record that had stood for 112 years for the most runs scored on the first day of a match. Additionally, they made opening day history by being the first team to score 500 runs.
It is worth pointing out that England will play a three-game series, with the second and third Tests being held at Multan and Karachi, respectively.
