England secured a dominant victory over Pakistan, triumphing by an innings and 47 runs on the fifth day of the opening Test match. Pakistan, starting the day at 152-6 in their second innings, saw their hopes of a comeback dashed as they could only muster 220-9, with leg-spinner Abrar Ahmed unable to bat due to illness. Jack Leach played a crucial role in dismantling Pakistan's lower order, taking four wickets to solidify England's control following their massive first innings total of 823-7 declared, leaving the hosts with no chance of recovery.
The defeat marked a new low for Pakistan, as they became the first team to lose a Test match by an innings after scoring over 500 runs in the first innings. This loss was Pakistan's sixth consecutive defeat in Test matches and their seventh loss at home in their last nine matches, underscoring their struggles in the longest format of the game.
On the final day of the match, England's fast bowlers troubled the overnight batsmen, Agha Salman and Aamer Jamal, with a barrage of bouncers. Jamal, who had been struck on the side of the head by a fiery delivery from Brydon Carse, showed resilience to reach his half-century. He was given a reprieve when stand-in captain Ollie Pope dropped a tough chance at square-leg, one of five dropped catches by England in the innings, and finished unbeaten on 55.
Leach showcased his skills by taking a spectacular catch off his own bowling to dismiss Shaheen Afridi before stumping Naseem Shah to secure the victory for England.
England put on a remarkable display on a flat Multan pitch that provided little assistance to the bowlers. Despite losing the toss and spending over a day and a half in the field, allowing Pakistan to score 556 runs, England responded with an impressive total of 823. This monumental score was fueled by Harry Brook's first-ever triple hundred and Joe Root's career-best 262.
Shan Masood's tenure as captain got off to a rocky start, with Pakistan suffering their sixth consecutive defeat since he took over from Babar Azam. These losses include three defeats against Australia (away), two against Bangladesh (at home), and the recent loss in the first Test in Multan.
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