England are firmly in control of the second Test against Pakistan after an excellent 79 from Ben Duckett and an unbeaten 74 from Harry Brook helped them extend their lead to 281 runs.
Pakistan finished day one strongly with both captain Babar Azam and Saud Shakeel well set, but wickets fell rapidly in the morning session as England bowled them out for 202. Ollie Robinson made the initial breakthrough, bowling Babar through the gate for 75 with just his second ball and sparking something of a collapse.
Pakistan were 142-2 before Babar was dismissed, but ultimately slumped to 202 all out as they lost their last eight wickets for just 80 runs. Shakeel was the next man to go for 63, with James Anderson taking a brilliant diving catch to hand Jack Leach his 100th Test match wicket.
Leach went on to take 4-98, also dismissing Mohammad Rizwan and Mohammad Nawaz, with Pakistan going into their shell after losing their skipper. Joe Root picked up two wickets in one over, with Agha Salman's wicket the softest of all as he tamely poked a simple catch to Ben Stokes at short mid-on.
Root then got Mohammad Ali caught at slip for a duck as Pakistan lost five wickets for only 11 runs, with Mark Wood ultimately wrapping up the innings with the dismissals of Zahid Mahmood and Faheem Ashraf. It was an excellent morning for England and ensured they took a first innings lead of 79 which they were able to extend to almost 300.
Pakistan did make a good start with the ball in England's second innings, taking two wickets inside the first seven overs. Zak Crawley was run out for three thanks to a direct hit from Abrar Ahmed after setting off for a single that was never there. Abrar was once again the chief destroyer, with the debutant taking three wickets to go along with his seven in the first innings, becoming just the second Pakistan bowler to take ten on his Test debut.
Will Jacks, promoted up to number three to give wicketkeeper Ollie Pope a rest, was bowled by Abrar for four after attempting a slog sweep while Root was once again out cheaply thanks to a stunning catch at short leg from Abdullah Shafique. Duckett, however, continued his good form as he scored a second half-century of the match to put England in a commanding position.
He did fall short of a second Test hundred though, with even Abrar left in disbelief after bowling him with a delivery that kept incredibly low. Pope was also run out after setting off for a single that was not there, but Brook and Stokes ensured England safely reached the close of play on 202-5, with Brook unbeaten after scoring an excellent 74.
Here are five talking points...
Robinson's brilliance
Although he only bowled five overs in Pakistan's first innings and was not introduced until the 35th over, Robinson made a telling contribution as he dismissed Babar for 75, bowling the Pakistan skipper through the gate with a wobble ball.
Typically more of a new ball specialist, to the point where he broke up Anderson's long-time opening partnership with Broad earlier this summer, Robinson has excelled with the old ball against Pakistan so far and his wicket of Babar sparked their collapse.
The 29-year-old has taken six wickets at 20.66 so far this series, with five of those coming after the 30th over of Pakistan's innings as he has become adept at getting the ball to reverse swing. "Robinson is one of the most natural bowlers I've ever seen," declared former England seamer Jonathan Agnew on BBC Test Match Special.
Leach's 100
Having come to the fore with 4-98 in Pakistan's first innings, Leach reached the impressive landmark of 100 Test match wickets. The dismissal of Shakeel, who was caught brilliantly by Anderson having made an attritional 63, was Leach's 100th scalp and he looks to be enjoying his role under Stokes' captaincy.
He is the 49th English bowler to reach the landmark and said before the Test he was not even aware he was only two wickets away from it. "That would be amazing," he told his county Somerset. "I wasn't aware of that. I just want to keep helping England to win games of cricket.
"It's all about the team and there's no better feeling than when you're playing for your teammates and winning. I want to keep contributing to the team and hopefully we can keep going from strength to strength."
"Submissive" Pakistan collapse
Pakistan tamely slipped to 202 all out after Babar's dismissal, with fellow set batter Shakeel quickly following as the middle order went into their shell. Only Ashraf, batting at number eight, scored more than 10, with Pakistan losing five for 11 at one point.
Aside from the top four, Pakistan managed just seven more boundaries and Ashraf was the only batter who scored at a strike rate over 35 with the hosts accused of becoming "submissive" by former England batter Mark Butcher. "From the moment that Ollie Robinson bowled the 35th, there were 28 overs, and they were 8-60," he said on Sky Sports.
"They became entirely submissive. I think England were superb, but I will say it again, I think Pakistan were entirely submissive after the dismissal of Babar and kind of fell into a hole of their own making."
England's failed experiment
Given the innovative way Stokes and Brendon McCullum want England to approach Test cricket, not everything they try is going to come off. And while it was entirely fair for them to push Pope down the order for a rest given he is now keeping wicket, their decision to promote Jacks up to number three was an interesting one that failed to pay off.
Jacks has never batted above number four in first-class cricket before and his promotion appeared to be an attempt to up the ante from England. However, he could only make four before getting bowled by Abrar attempting a reckless slog sweep.
"I don't think Jacks had any clue which way that was turning," former England spinner Alex Hartley said on BBC Test Match Special. "England's tactic of sending Jacks up the order to up the ante hasn't worked.
To compound matters, Pope became the second England batter to be horrifically run out trying to take a single that was not there after coming in at number six.
Duckett here to stay
Having been handed a second opportunity at the top of the order six years from his first stint, Duckett looks very much at home. The 28-year-old is a much improved player and has enjoyed a dream return, scoring a hundred and two half-centuries in his four innings so far.
Duckett is a naturally attacking batter, which suits the way Stokes and McCullum want to play the game, and he complements his opening partner perfectly. Duckett is a short left-hander who scores strongly square of the wicket, while Crawley is a tall right-hander who likes to drive down the ground.
While Duckett's hundred came on an incredibly flat pitch in Rawalpindi where six other players also reached three figures, his two half-centuries in Multan are arguably more impressive given there has been more in it for the bowlers.
