New Delhi. On the strength of young batsman Harry Brook's triple century and Joe Root's career-high innings, England has come close to victory in the Multan Test against host Pakistan. England declared their first innings at 823 runs for 7 wickets in the first Test match. Brook scored 317 runs with the help of 29 fours and three sixes in 322 balls while Root played an innings of 262 runs in 375 balls which includes 17 fours. Both of them added 454 runs for the fourth wicket which is a new record for England. Pakistan had scored 556 runs in the first innings but its batsmen faltered in the second innings. By the end of the fourth day's play, Pakistan has scored 152 runs for 6 wickets in its second innings and it needs 115 runs to avoid innings defeat. There is severe heat in Multan. England's batsmen are troubled by the heat here. After scoring a double century, Joe Root was seen drying his underwear near the boundary at the end of play on the fourth day.

Former captain Joe Root looked very troubled by the scorching heat in Multan. His clothes were wet with sweat. After his batting, Root was seen drying clothes on the boundary line. He also dried socks, underwear, jerseys, and trousers on the ground outside the boundary. His name was written on the jersey. Pictures of Root's clothes are going viral on social media.

Wondering how exhausted Joe Root must be after his mammoth stint in the middle?

He's currently drying his soaking wet kit in the baking Multan sun#PAKvENG pic.twitter.com/GWEJDjSmA8

— England's Barmy Army (@TheBarmyArmy)October 10, 2024

This is only the fourth occasion in Test cricket when a team has scored more than 800 runs
in an innings. This has happened for the first time in the current century. This put the Pakistan team under pressure and their batting collapsed badly in the second innings. Chris Woakes uprooted the off stump of Abdullah Shafiq on the very first ball of the innings. After this, no batsman from Pakistan could play steadily. Fast bowlers Gus Atkinson (2) and Brydon Carse (2) played an important role in destroying Pakistan's batting.

Pakistan needs 115 runs to avoid an innings defeat.
If Shoaib Bashir had not dropped an easy catch on Amir Jamal, Pakistan's situation would have been worse. At the end of the day's play, Jamal was playing with 27 runs, and Salman Ali Agha with 41 runs. England needs 4 wickets to win the Multan Test. Pakistan has to score 115 more runs to avoid an innings defeat. It has lost 6 wickets for 152 runs in the second innings.