England completed a remarkable victory over Pakistan on day five in Multan - here are five takeaways from their win in the series opener.
Following a record-tumbling day four, in which England posted their highest-ever post-war total and reduced Pakistan to 82-6, Aamer Jamal and Salman Agha threatened to take Pakistan close to parity on day five. However, three wickets in six overs saw England to an extraordinary innings victory - the first for a side who conceded 500 runs in the first innings.
With England now holding a 1-0 lead in the three-match series, there's plenty to take stock of from the first Test.
Similar conditions breed similar results
There was uncertainty over what kind of conditions and surfaces would be prepared for this series. England showed in the 2022 tour and beyond that flat tracks are ideal for the brand of cricket they base their identity on. Equally, giving Pakistan's bolstered seam attack something to work with would balance their frailties with the bat, and be their best chance of beating an imbalanced England in Ben Stokes' absence. Given the conditions Bangladesh were able to exploit in Pakistan last month, both side's attacks could have expected at least something to work with.
However, the first three days in Multan blew those possibilities out of the water. England's toil on day one was surpassed by Pakistan's on day three and four. The flatness of the surface allowed England to effectively add another day's worth of runs into the game through their run rate, and force themselves into a winning position. It was a heist that mirrored their 2022 Rawalpindi pasting, underpinned by skill with the bat, guile with the ball and Pakistan's mistakes, but engineered by a pitch of Pakistan's nightmares.
England's inexperienced attack finds a way
Despite the difficulties presented by the surface, England reduced Pakistan to 82-6 in the evening of day four. They exploited the meagre offerings the pitch gave them, Chris Woakes hitting a crack to dismiss Abdullah Shafique with the first ball of the innings, Gus Atkinson hanging the ball outside off and tempting Babar Azam to nick behind. Brydon Carse was also impressive, digging the ball into the pitch, and keeping his speeds in the mid 80s as the overs racked up. Despite Woakes being the only one of the trio with an overseas cap before the game, and his much questioned record overseas, England's pace attack quietly ticked off their first assignment in the most challenging of conditions. Their next test will be doing it all again in four day's time.
Pakistan's problems beyond selection
Losing this Test puts Pakistan in unenviable company of side's who have lost a Test match after scoring 500 runs in an innings. The positives taken from their batting performance on day one and two were quickly eclipsed when 500 proved to be the bare minimum on the surface. But more difficult to fix is how quickly they disintegrated from a position that was salvageable on day four. England began that day still trailing Pakistan's first-innings score. The simple catch Babar put down in the fourth over of the day would have prevented most of the records England broke throughout the rest of the innings. Even from that early point, Pakistan looked resigned in the field. They dropped even more chances throughout the day, weren't disciplined enough in holding their lengths and were unable to claw back any intensity. That was epitomised by the field set to Brook as he neared his triple century. There were few close-in fielders preventing singles; instead the boundary riders waited to collect his next boundary.
Those internal frailties were compounded when they slipped to six wickets down in less than a session, Saim Ayub's awful shot encapsulating their disintegration. Pakistan might have decisions to make over how they line up next time out, especially with Abrar Ahmed still in hospital, but those are the easy questions they face.
Root and Brook seal England's past, present and future
The records Joe Root and Harry Brook broke on day four may never be broken - depending on the surfaces which await for the rest of the series. The last four years Root has had have set him up for the twilight of his career to be his best. Every run he scores, now as England's highest-ever run-scorer, puts that title further out of reach for anyone else, even Brook. While Root chases history, Brook points to England's future. Now with international captaincy experience under his belt, a Test average of well over 60, those dream first two years of his career are back on track following a low-key summer. Together, however, they anchor England to their present. Just as victory in Multan wouldn't have been possible without Root's marathon, it also wouldn't have been possible without Brook's strike-rate of almost a run a ball. Their partnership average, now above 80 from 20 innings, shows how special the overlap period of their careers promises to be.
Five-day Test and short gap provide rotation dilemmas
The next Test starts in just four days time. Each side spent two of the last five days in the heat despite the innings victory, and looked understandably weary after each one. While resetting for another Test on what could be another tiresome pitch is a challenge both sides face, England's dilemmas could be more acute. Olly Stone will head home this weekend for his wedding, leaving their squad a fast-bowler short. While Ben Stokes could come back in for the second Test, taking the place of one seamer, Matthew Potts is their only other option to rotate in.
Pakistan have their own worries, with their frontline spinner still hospitalised. Expect changes for both sides next time out.
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