Although the Pakistan cricket team scored 556 runs in the first innings of the Multan Test, they lost by an innings and 47 runs. In response to Pakistan’s total of 556 runs in the first innings, England put a whopping total of 823/7 on the board before the innings was announced. In response, Pakistan could only score 220 runs in the second innings and lost the Test in “record-breaking” fashion. Thanks to the result, Pakistan entered the history books for all the wrong reasons, becoming the first team in the game’s history to lose a Test by an innings after scoring over 500 runs in the first innings.

In the 147-year history of Test cricket, no team has suffered a defeat as heavy as Pakistan, and it was all thanks to a double hundred from Joe Root and a triple century from Harry Brook.

Pakistan performed well with over 500 runs in the first innings with Abdullah Shafique, skipper Shan Masood and Agha Salman scoring centuries. Even Saud Shakeel did well in his 84-run effort. But Pakistan’s bowling unit looked toothless against England’s batting attack as the visitors’ wicket loss was due more to fatigue than to the skills of the host bowlers.

In the second innings, the Pakistan batting unit barely managed to withstand England’s bowling attack, with Agha Salman’s 63 being the highest score. Aamer Jamal remained not out on 55 runs as England secured victory by taking nine of Pakistan’s ten wickets.

Abrar Ahmed could not bat in the second innings as he was hospitalized after the game ended.

While there are still many reasons for Pakistan’s poor performance against England, the biggest reason is probably their inability to gel as a unit. Clear game plans seem to be lacking for captain Shan Masood’s captaincy, with star players like Babar Azam, Shaheen Afridi, Naseem Shah etc. yet to find their best form.

After the 0-2 home defeat in the Test series against Bangladesh, Pakistan is said to have experienced a wake-up call. But it seems the team that was once a giant in Asian conditions is still sleeping.