Shambles! Pakistan fall to a new low, loses Multan Test against England by an inning

Pakistan Cricket is in shambles. 

The hosts lost the first Test against England by an innings and 47 runs after getting all out on 220 inside the first session on day five. Pakistan created an unwanted record with this defeat, becoming the first team in the 147-year Test history to lose a match by an inning after scoring 556 in the first innings.

England take a 1-0 lead in the three-match series. 

Pakistan also endured a sixth consecutive loss in Tests under Shan Masood, the third straight this season after losing the home series to Bangladesh earlier. This loss, however, is Pakistan's seventh at home since 2022; the hosts are also winless in 11 Tests played in the past two years. 

Meanwhile, Pakistan batted first in Multan, smashing a whopping 556, with Captain Shan Masood and all-rounder Salman Agha completing their respective hundreds.

Although, at first, it looked like a decent score on this flat Multan wicket, England's first-inning total made it look tiny. 

Despite losing captain Ollie Pope on a second-ball duck, England batters made mayhem in Multan, with returning Zak Crawley and injured Ben Duckett hitting fifties. 

No one by then would have known that it was just the beginning of something massive to follow. 

The celebrated pair of Joe Root and Harry Brook took charge and went on to amass gigantic scores in the first innings. While Joe Root registered his highest Test score of 262, becoming the first English batter to complete 20,000-plus runs in international cricket, Harry Brook became the first Englishman after the great Graham Gooch to hit a Test triple hundred, smashing 317 - his best in this format. 

Courtesy of their 454-run stand for the fourth wicket - highest for any pair for any wicket for England in Tests, the travelling side scored 823 for seven declared - the fourth-highest Test team total ever, taking a 267-run lead. 

After bowling for nearly three days, with six of their seven bowlers conceding more than 100 runs each - a record in itself, a worn-out Pakistan Team fumbled under pressure in the second inning, losing six wickets inside 150 runs before the end of day four.

Although Salman and Aamer Jamal stitched a 100-run-plus stand for the seventh wicket, it wasn't enough as they surrendered early on day five in the first Test. 

Meanwhile, Pakistan also became the team with the most losses (5*) in Tests after scoring 500-plus in the first innings.

Multan will host the second Test starting Tuesday (Oct 15).