England vs Pakistan, third Test: Key moments of Day 1
England dominated Day 1 of the final Test against Pakistan at the Ageas Bowl. While Pakistan entered the third Test with an unchanged XI, the hosts drafted Jofra Archer in place of Sam Curran. Meanwhile, the likes of Zak Crawley and Jos Buttler put England on top in the final session. Here are the key moments of the first day.
How did Day 1 pan out?
After opting to bat, England lost their first wicket in the form of Rory Burns, who was caught behind in the slips. The likes of Dominic Sibley, Joe Root, and Ollie Pope also failed to capitalize. However, top-order batsman Zak Crawley went on to register his maiden Test ton. Later on, Jos Buttler also joined the former as England finished on 332/4 at stumps.
Maiden ton in Test cricket
Top-order batsman Zak Crawley recorded his first century in Test cricket, having remained unbeaten on 171. Notably, he became the fifth-youngest Englishman (22 years and 200 days) to register a maiden Test hundred. Since 2000, only Alastair Cook, Ollie Pope, Joe Root and Ben Stokes have made their maiden Test century for England at a younger age than Zak Crawley.
Another feat attained by Crawley
After settling for a hundred, Crawley made the most of his sublime touch and got past the 150-run mark. By doing so, he became the sixth England batsman to register an individual score of 150+ before turning 23.
Second half-century of the series for Buttler
While Crawley played a defiant knock, his compatriot Jos Buttler duly complemented him with a rather aggressive approach. Buttler returned unbeaten on Day 1 after having complied 87 off 148 balls. Notable, he raced to his second half-century of the series and third in his last five Test innings. He also stitched a 205-run partnership with Crawley after England were reduced to 127/4.
Pakistani bowlers leaked plenty of runs
All the Pakistani bowlers proved expensive on the opening day. Despite picking a couple of wickets, leg-spinner Yasir Shah conceded 107 runs. The likes of Shaheen Afridi and Naseem Shah also scalped a wicket each, however, the duo gave away 71 and 66 runs respectively. Mohammad Abbas was the only Pakistani bowler whose economy rate remained below 3.
