Pak vs Eng: Joe Root reaches key milestone on third day of first Multan Test

MULTAN: England's right-handed batter Joe Root on Wednesday reached a key milestone as he became the leading run-scorer in the red-ball format for his country on the third day of the first Test being played at the Multan Cricket Stadium.

Root began the day on 32 not out, needing a further 39 runs to eclipse Alastair Cook's tally of 12,472, and the former captain eased to his target with an on-drive for four off Aamer Jamal before soaking up loud applause from the travelling English fans.

His half-century guided the team to 232-2 at lunch on the third day.

Earlier, the visitors resumed their innings from 96-1 after the home team amassed 556 in their first innings on a flat pitch. However, they lost Zak Crawley for 78 inside the first hour when the opener flicked one from Shaheen Afridi to Aamer Jamal at mid-wicket.

That abruptly ended the 109-run stand for the second wicket but England were in no mood to slow down.

Duckett, who dislocated his left thumb while taking a catch and was unable to open on Tuesday, showed no signs of the issue as he took to the crease and smashed spinner Abrar Ahmed out of the attack temporarily with three boundaries in the 30th over.

He needed only 45 balls to bring up his half-century as the hosts struggled to keep the run rate under five an over.

With Root (79*) and Ben Duckett (82*) on the crease, the score stands at 243-2 with the English side trailing by 313 runs after lunch.

Playing XI

Pakistan: Shan Masood (captain), Saud Shakeel (vice-captain), Saim Ayub, Abdullah Shafique, Babar Azam, Mohammad Rizwan (wicket-keeper), Salman Ali Agha, Aamir Jamal, Shaheen Afridi, Naseem Shah, Abrar Ahmad

England: Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Ollie Pope (captain), Joe Root, Harry Brook, Jamie Smith, Chris Woakes, Gus Atkinson, Brydon Carse, Jack Leach, Shoaib Bashir