Australian fast bowler Dennis Lillee once said that the pitch in Faisalabad is like a graveyard for bowlers. Well, today in Multan, Mohammad Rizwan declared the Multan pitch a graveyard for the batting lineup. Sinclair came in to bat, and the poor guy had it rough. The whole first team was struggling, barely making double figures, and on top of that, Rizwan tells Sinclair, “Welcome to the graveyard, brother.” It's like you wouldn't even get a welcome like that in a graveyard at night!
In the graveyard, a new cover gets made, and nothing else happens—not even a scream. Well, this has turned into a graveyard for batters, right? Just look at the wicket in Multan. Plus, Rizwan also mentioned that you'd enjoy your bowling; he scored 11 runs. Poor guy just got a little edge on one that he wasn't supposed to hit. Sinclair, let me tell you an interesting record: this guy, Reekon, and Seales, Seales scored 31 not out. In 22 Test matches, this is the third time this has happened in Test cricket.
In the last 50 years of Test cricket, the number 10 and number 11 batsmen have scored more runs than the entire batting lineup at times. Right now, the highest run-scorer is 31, followed by the second highest, which is Seals with 22 runs at number 11. Seals has played decently, hitting some good shots, and you can see he has some serious batting talent. He’s hit some amazing shots over the leg side. So, these two are the highest run-scorers right now.
"The guy who came in to bat at number nine scored 19 runs. The partnership down below added around 40-45 runs, which helped the West Indies cross 100. Otherwise, they were in a really bad spot with seven players out for just 51 runs. Noman bhai and Sajid bhai were in trouble. Check on Sajid bhai—he took four wickets in his first three overs, and after that, he just kept bowling without doing much else. It was a tough match."
His bowling was really impressive, he took two wickets but gave away four runs in his first three overs. After that, he just sat back and relaxed. Sajid Bhai bowled 12 overs in total, and in his third over, he opened with the ball. In that over, he took two wickets, and then he got the batter out by bowling him. I didn't quite get why he went for that drive, but while trying to hit it, he...
He hit a really weird shot at one end, and I just couldn't figure out what it was. He was so caught up in trying to play a stylish shot that he completely forgot how to handle the Multan pitch. You know, the way you play on that wicket is not how you handle it at all. Have you seen how the dust flies up? Especially in the winter months, it gives you a clue. Then he got bowled, and right after that, he caught a catch off the very first ball. Rara took an amazing catch!
A really young guy at short leg made a reflex catch, and trust me, it was something else! This catch is basically on trend right now. Rera said to catch it in such a way that it automatically fits into that trending reel. That's exactly how he caught it; the ball seemed to have slipped out, but somehow he snagged it. So, Sajid Bhai took two wickets in his first over, and then there was his third and fifth over of the innings.
In the second over, he took two wickets. First, he bowled out Brathwaite, and then he got Hodge out as well. Poor Brathwaite didn’t even see where the ball came from; it just snuck right past him and hit the stumps. And Hodge? He was caught bowled too, and it was an outstanding catch. You know, Hodge got so far down the pitch that if he had just taken half a step more, he could have connected with a full toss. He was way ahead of the ball!
While playing, he completely missed his shot and didn’t generate any power. The ball just tipped off his bat; it was so close that it went towards Sajid bhai. Sajid bhai made an amazing catch—outstanding, really! One of the best catches of the match, and he caught it off his own bowling. So far, he’s taken four wickets, wiping out the top order of the West Indies. Sajid bhai cleaned them up, taking down the middle order and all the way down. Nomi bhai, I think Abrar is crying about it.
They must have told both of them, "Come on, man, I'm also playing this Test match, let me take a wicket too." They said, "Alright, go ahead and take a wicket." So, you know that Seals' wicket? Abrar got him out, and he hit it in the air. Seals was trying to hit it over to the leg side, but it got a top edge, and Rizwan took a great catch. It was like a graveyard out there, and it really was. You could tell from the way the pitch was being prepared in Multan. I mentioned to you earlier that they had set up a camp there, with heaters running inside.
They were in their own zone, you know? It was definitely a chill vibe. I'm telling you, we just needed some snacks and drinks to make it perfect. Other than that, the atmosphere inside was full-on. I felt like they were just lounging around, laying on mattresses and cozying up, thinking, "Man, it's freezing outside, let’s just hang out here." At least during this chilly season, it was better to stay in. They really worked that pitch over, cooked it well. Even with the fog, you could see how much effort they put into it.
You can get an idea of the moisture and all that fog and shock, but no, sir, they set up their own spin graveyard. Now, just look at the West Indies team; they're stuck at over 137. Pakistan has the upper hand now. They seem to be batting relatively well in the second innings, but you never really know with the Pakistan team. They've lost three wickets at over 109. Shan Masood scored 50 in the second innings and was playing well, but then he got run out with a really strange call that didn’t make any sense.
"Man, Shan Masood was playing really well; he could have easily hit a century. But let's be real, even if Pakistan scores another 100 runs from here, they're still looking at a target of 300. There's no way the West Indies are going to chase down 300 on this pitch, especially after seeing what our spinners, Nauman and Sajid, did to them in the first innings. It felt like the batters weren't even facing bowlers; it was like two butchers just going at a goat."
"Professional butcher, if it's going like this, then Rizwan is right—Multan is turning into a batting graveyard, especially for the teams touring Pakistan. They've found the recipe, and now they’re just going to tear it apart.
"Man, Shan Masood was playing really well; he could have easily hit a century. But let's be real, even if Pakistan scores another 100 runs from here, they're still looking at a target of 300. There's no way the West Indies are going to chase down 300 on this pitch, especially after seeing what our spinners, Nauman and Sajid, did to them in the first innings. It felt like the batters weren't even facing bowlers; it was like two butchers just going at a goat."
"Professional butcher, if it's going like this, then Rizwan is right—Multan is turning into a batting graveyard, especially for the teams touring Pakistan. They've found the recipe, and now they’re just going to tear it apart.
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