Shan Masood defies England in first Test with century

MANCHESTER (92 News) - Shan Masood scored a crucial century for Pakistan on the second day of the first Test against England in Manchester. His century came off 251 deliveries and included 13 boundaries. He became the first Pakistan opener to score a century in England since Saeed Anwar, who achieved the feat back in 1996. Earlier, Pakistan went for lunch at 187-5 with Shan Masood and Shadab Khan at the crease. England pacers had the Pakistan batting lineup on the ropes by taking wickets at regular intervals. It took seven boundaries and 156 deliveries for Shan to reach his half-century. The hosts had the possible start to the day as they dismissed Babar Azam for 69. The talisman failed to add anything to his overnight score as he was caught by Joe Root off James Anderson’s bowling. The visitors were reduced to 150-4 as Asad Shafiq, who contributed seven runs to the board, was caught by Ben Stokes off Stuart Broad’s delivery. Chris Woakes then bagged his second wicket of the innings as wicketkeeper-batsman Mohammad Rizwan nicked the ball to Jos Buttler, leaving the side at 176-5. Day One Pakistan were 139-2 at the end of the first day’s play. Babar and opening batsman Shan Masood had stitched a 96-run partnership for the third wicket. It took a while for the Pakistan’s Test vice-captain to get going. He reached his half-century with the help of nine boundaries. He was not out at 69. Opening batsman Shan Masood was also looking in good nick. He is closing on another Test half-century as he was unbeaten on 46. Pakistan started the afternoon session at 53-2 with Babar and Shan batting at 27 and four respectively. The visitors won the toss and chose to bat first. They managed to struggle earlier with the pace combination of James Anderson and Stuart Broad getting the ball to swing. Shan’s opening partner Abid Ali survived early on as he edged the ball to slips but it was just out of Rory Burns’ reach. He was finally dismissed in the 16th over as he was knocked over by Jofra Archer for 16. Test skipper Azhar Ali headed for the pavilion shortly as he was trapped leg-before by pacer Chris Woakes for nought. The fixture is being contested in a bio-secure environment without any audience in the stands. It will also be the first series in Test cricketing history in which the third umpire will be calling no-balls. England are heading into the Pakistan series after claiming a 2-1 series win over the West Indies. The side lost the first Test but made a remarkable recovery in the following games to take the series home. Pakistan, on the other hand, have not played a single international fixture since February this year due to the coronavirus. Their two-match Test series against Bangladesh, which was to be completed following this year’s edition of the Pakistan Super League (PSL), was halted halfway. Azhar Ali’s side had a 1-0 lead after winning the series-opener. The match started at 3pm Pakistan Standard Time (PST). Teams: England XI: Dom Sibley, Rory Burns, Joe Root (captain), Ben Stokes, Ollie Pope, Jos Buttler (wicketkeeper), Chris Woakes, Dom Bess, Stuart Broad, Jofra Archer and James Anderson. Pakistan XI: Shan Masood, Abid Ali, Azhar Ali (captain), Babar Azam, Asad Shafiq, Shadab Khan, Mohammad Rizwan (wicketkeeper), Yasir Shah, Shaheen Afridi, Mohammad Abbas and Naseem Shah.