Pak vs Eng – Pakistan mediocre wait for their date as the familiar story unfolds in Multan

Like a plane taking off or a group of suspiciously adult-looking teenagers getting on a roller coaster Final destination movie, you know where this is going. Pakistan is about to take on a similarly innocuous task when England, having had enough, will finally hand it back to them tomorrow. They must fend off one of England’s weakest bowling attacks on one of their calmest surfaces.

However, knowledge of the English game plan does not necessarily protect against its occurrence. After all, Pakistan knows they’re on the back of an almost four-year winless Test home series, but they’re not ready to end it any sooner.

Salman Ali Agha yesterday said he was confident the cracks would “open wide” in the last two days. Jack Leach – who was part of the side that secured that remarkable Pindi victory in 2022 – and Shoaib Bashir may be interested. Shan Masood and Abdullah Shafique’s return to form is only an innings old, and Babar Azam’s quest continues. And while Masood has repeatedly pointed to the winning positions that Pakistan has achieved during his time as captain, Pakistan must take similar responsibility for the fact that, on every occasion that has arisen, they have dismantled these positions of advantage into the abyss of the defeat. .

Once again, the hosts find themselves in a situation where the nasty draw that destroys their losing run – the bare minimum that Pakistani supporters should expect given the conditions and the opposition’s bowling quality – can only be achieved with the kind of grit they failed to yield. in one of the three Tests they have played so far this year.

Like the Final destination series will confirm that even mediocrity can be a difficult barrier to overcome.