MULTAN: England finished the second day of the first Test in Multan on a solid 96-1 on Tuesday in reply to Pakistan’s mammoth 556 that was boosted by a fiery century from Agha Salman. The tourists lost stand-in skipper Ollie Pope for a second-ball duck before Zak Crawley and Joe Root steadied the innings with 64 and 32 respectively at stumps.

It was another tough day for bowlers as an unbeaten 104 from Salman and 82 by Saud Shakeel swelled Pakistan’s total, which was set up by Shan Masood’s 151 and Abdullah Shafique’s 102 on Monday. Pope, standing in for injured skipper Ben Stokes, was smartly caught by a leaping Aamer Jamal who plucked an uppish pull shot off pacer Naseem Shah with one hand at mid-wicket.

He had been drafted in to open the batting after Ben Duckett injured his left thumb taking a catch at the end of the Pakistan innings. England need another 261 to avoid a follow-on—a task eminently achievable on a pitch offering no help to bowlers.

Salman built on the good work of Shakeel and Naseem in the afternoon, reaching his third century with a single off spinner Jack Leach soon after the tea interval. Salman, who also completed 1,000 Test runs during this knock when he reached 71, added a rapid 85 for the ninth wicket with Shaheen Shah Afridi, who scored 26.

In all, Salman cracked 10 boundaries and three sixes in his 119-ball knock — surviving a catch by Chris Woakes when the third umpire declared the fielder’s foot went beyond the rope. “It’s always satisfying to hit a century and contribute to the team’s total,” said Salman, who hoped the pitch would take spin in the next three days.

“I think cracks will open on this pitch and that will help spinners, I see this as a result-oriented pitch as both the teams will go for a result.” Salman added an invaluable 57 runs for the seventh wicket with Shakeel, who was caught smartly by Root at slip off Bashir for 82. Shakeel hit eight fours.

Leach was the most successful England bowler with 3-160, while Gus Atkinson finished with 2-99. Woakes, Shoaib Bashir and Root took one wicket apiece. Pace bowler Brydon Carse took 2-74 on debut after trapping Jamal for seven. His first Test wicket was Naseem, caught at leg slip by Harry Brook before lunch for 33. Carse said England’s bowlers were made to toil on an unresponsive pitch. “The last two days were immensely tough conditions for everyone out there,” he said. “To be able to pick up a couple of wickets today is rewarding.” “It’s been a tough graft but credit to the players for keep coming back.” The remaining Tests are in Multan (October 15-19) and Rawalpindi (October 24-28). — AFP