PAK vs ENG | Twitter buzzes as Jack Leach spins out Shafique with a beauty and strikes the first blow

ByDebayan Sinha, SportsCafe Editor

10/15/2024

6145

Spinners possess a remarkable ability to deliver stunning balls and secure early breakthroughs. This was evident with Jack Leach on the first day of the second Test against Pakistan at Multan, where he bowled a brilliant delivery to dismiss Abdullah Shafique and broke Pakistan’s opening stand.

‌Pakistan aimed to recover from their recent Test struggles as Shan Masood won the toss and chose to bat. Openers Abdullah Shafique and Saim Ayub started cautiously on the spin-friendly pitch in Multan. Returning after a long injury break, England captain Ben Stokes handed the ball to spinners Shoaib Bashir and Jack Leach. With spin coming into play, Pakistan reached 15/0 in seven overs.

Leach bowled a full-length delivery targeting the middle and leg stump on the third ball of the eighth over. Shafique leaned forward to defend, presenting the full face of the bat, but the ball spun sharply away from him. Beaten on the outside edge, Shafique watched as the ball hit the off stump, sending it cartwheeling. Pakistan’s opening stand continued to woe them as Shafique walked back with sheer disappointment. Leach celebrated the first breakthrough as Twitter praised him for the delivery and discussed Pakistan’s struggles.

Perfect delivery

— alex (@AlexHivklzzyh)

Hope

Kamran ghulam will score a century today
— Waheed Bhatti (@Waheed_bhatti)

In momentum

Great to see Saim Ayub hitting the first boundary of the day for Pakistan! 🇵🇰 Let’s keep the momentum going!
— ღ𝒌𝒐𝒉𝒆𝒏𝒐𝒐𝒓 𝒌𝒉𝒂𝒏ღ (@kohenoor_khan1)

First one

Kamran Ghullam hit his 1st international six ..!!✅
— HASHIM BUTT (@Hashim__Butt)

Not mentally present

Shan masood is not mentally present in the ground. he is thinking something.🤔
— CrazyThings (@Mcracy691)

Too tight

The field placement for debutant Kamran Ghulam Masood there 🤯

So much pressure applied by Stokes & Bashir 😳
— Asif Malik (@Asif_Malik83)

Lovely shot

Beautifully struck down the ground! A lovely shot from Ghulam, marking his first boundary in Test cricket - what a way to make an impact, not holding back at all!
— Ashmin Aryal (@aryal_ashmin)

Nervous start