Multan (Web Desk/Agencies): England made history by becoming the first team to score over 800 runs in an innings against Pakistan.
The hosts declared their first innings at 823-7 with a lead of 267 runs against Pakistan on the fourth day of the first Test in Multan.
England batters dominated Pakistani bowlers as Harry Brook notched up a superb 317 and Joe Root hit 262 runs.
Pakistan in reply were struggling on 152-6 at the close of the fourth day, with Agha Salman unbeaten on 41 and Aamer Jamal on 27 not out.
The pair added a fighting 70 for the seventh wicket, with the home team still needing 115 runs to avoid an innings defeat.
Pakistan’s collapse marked a quick turnaround to the match after a flat Multan stadium pitch saw 1,379 runs scored for the loss of just 17 wickets.
This remarkable feat surpassed the previous highest score against Pakistan, set by India in 2004 when they scored 675/5, also at Multan.
England’s total of 823 was now the highest team score ever against Pakistan, and only the fourth time in the history of Test cricket that a team has crossed the 800-run mark in a single innings.
The last team to achieve such a milestone was Sri Lanka, who scored 952/6 against India in 1997. England themselves hold two other spots on the list of 800+ Test innings, having made 903 against Australia in 1938 and 849 against the West Indies in 1930.
For Pakistan, the previous highest total conceded in a Test was 790/3, made by the West Indies in 1958. England’s historic innings saw stellar contributions from Joe Root and Harry Brook, whose 412-run partnership set a new record for the team. This broke the long-standing England record for the highest Test partnership of 411, held by Peter May and Colin Cowdrey against the West Indies in 1957.
The largest partnership in Test history remains 624 runs, set by Sri Lanka’s Mahela Jayawardene and Kumar Sangakkara against South Africa in 2006, but Root and Brook’s epic stand will undoubtedly be remembered as one of the great moments in Test cricket.