Rehan Ahmed claimed his first Test wicket in the afternoon session of his debut as England claimed wickets at key moments to reduce Pakistan to 204 for five at tea on day one at Karachi.
Having been handed his cap by Nasser Hussain before receiving a warm hug from his father who was permitted to join the team huddle, he only had to wait until the 17th over to bowl his first ball in Test cricket.
The teenager had varied his length a bit too much in the first session of play, and went into lunch having bowled five wickets for 37 runs, but was markedly more composed after the break.
Ahmed’s first wicket came in the middle of the afternoon when he cleverly set up Saud Shakeel, before he was caught by Ollie Pope at short leg.
It was a first glimpse of the talent spoken about by captain Ben Stokes and head coach Brendon McCullum throughout the series, when he beat Saud with a googly turning past the bat, before following it up with a wicket-taking leg-spinner that just took the edge.
The 18-year-old became England’s youngest-ever men’s Test cricketer, beating Brian Close’s record from 1949.
Joe Root was the other bowler in the afternoon session to take a wicket, when his full-toss was hit straight to mid-on by Mohammad Rizwan, who left the pitch furious with his decision-making for just 19.
Babar Azam successfully navigated the afternoon session untroubled on 71, having brought up his half century from 74 balls in the middle of the session.
In the morning, the tourists had almost immediately turned to spin, with Jack Leach becoming the first England spinner to open the bowling in the first innings of a match since 1921, when Jack White did so against Australia at Headingley.
Leach was rewarded with an early breakthrough as the ball glanced off Abdullah Shafique’s pad, but the batter elected to review.
The decision was upheld with umpires call on impact, to leave Pakistan 18 for one having opted to bat first.
Shan Masood had been batting positively for his 30 from 36 balls including five boundaries, but was caught on the boundary off the bowling of Mark Wood as England claimed their second scalp.
Ollie Robinson’s return to the field following a stomach upset led to a wicket on the stroke of lunch, with Azhar Ali caught behind by Ben Foakes for 45 on his final Test match for Pakistan.
