England take control against Pakistan after record-breaking day

England piled on a rapid-fire 331 runs before taking six Pakistani wickets in a record-shattering day four of the first Test in Multan.

The visitors began the day still 64 runs behind at 3/492, with Pakistan having racked up 556 runs in their first innings.

That deficit was soon erased as Harry Brook and Joe Root combined for England’s highest-ever partnership in red-ball cricket, putting on 454 runs for the fourth wicket.

Root, having passed Alastair Cook as England’s greatest Test runscorer on day three, went on to make a career-best 262 before falling after 375 balls.

By the time Root fell, England were already past 700 runs.

Brook would also achieve his highest Test score, making 317 — the fifth-highest score by an English batsman in Tests.

Energetic cameos by Jamie Smith (31 from 24), Chris Woakes (17 from 16) and Brydon Carse (9 from 6) took them beyond 800, with the lead sitting at 267 runs by the time captain Ollie Pope waved the English batsmen in.

Cricket betting sites had the odds of a draw as short as $1.50 heading into day four.

However, after England’s bowlers nabbed six wickets late in the day, that price has ballooned to $15 at Bet365.

When play resumes on day five, England will need just four more wickets with a lead of 115 runs to work with.

Salman Agha (41) and Aamer Jamal (27) are well established at the crease for Pakistan, having rebuilt from 6/82 to 6/152.

Even so, the visitors are paying just $1.02 to come away victorious on Friday.

“It was really good fun,” a weary Root said after the end of play on Thursday.

“It’s challenging, obviously very hot and quite tiring, but that’s part of the fun of it, I suppose.

“When you’re out there, you just remember what it feels like being on the other end of it.

“You know that things are in your favour, so you just got to try and make the most of it.”

Brook revealed afterwards that he was not aware of where his knock of 317 put him on the list of all-time individual scores for England.

“I knew about [Graham] Gooch 333 but didn’t know about the others,” he said.

“Had a lot of fun, didn’t say much, but enjoyed it.

“Good wicket, wanted to cash in as much as possible.

“Feels pretty good, glad the team’s in a good position.”

Should England take the remaining Pakistani wickets on day five, they will keep alive their slim hopes of making the World Test Championship final next year.

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