Haris Rauf Cleans Up On Fire Zak Crawley On A Flat Surface; Grabs His First Wicket On Test Debut

At a flat pitch in Rawalpindi, Haris Rauf showed his sheer pace as he cleaned up centurion Zak Crawley in the first innings.

Cricket Image for Haris Rauf Cleans Up On Fire Zak Crawley On A Flat Surface; Grabs His First Wicket (Image Source: Google)

PAK vs ENG 1st Test: The first test of the 3-match series between Pakistan and England is being played at Rawalpindi stadium. In this match, England opener Zak Crawley displayed thunderous batting, but his incredible innings was brought to an end by Pakistan's ace pacer Haris Rauf, who clean bowled the English batter to register his first test wicket. 

As the Rawalpindi pitch didn't provide any kind of help or support for the bowlers, English batters exploited the flat surface extremely well. While Crawley smacked 122 runs, his opening partner Ben Duckett scored 107 runs. However, Haris Rauf showed his worth on a flat surface. On the 37th over of the innings, Haris Rauf's pace got through to Zak Crawley on the 5th delivery.

Haris didn't lose his cool in the extremely opposing conditions, and a 143.7 KPH delivery swinging in towards the batter did the job. Zak Crawley's stumps were shattered and the batter looked utterly surprised as his reaction was caught on camera. Haris Rauf's speed yet again proved to be his strength as the hosts grabbed a big wicket. 

Castled!

Local boy @HarisRauf14 gets his first Test wicket #PAKvENG | #UKSePK pic.twitter.com/iV7ExlLxF6

— Pakistan Cricket (@TheRealPCB) December 1, 2022

Ever since Pakistan has started hosting games in their country again, they've been preparing outrageously batter-friendly pitches to counter the opposition's potent bowling attack – first Australia and then England. Once again, a similar surface was seen for the 1st test between England and Pakistan. Zak Crawley (122) and Ben Duckett (107) etched a monstrous partnership of 233 runs. 

While writing this piece, England are at 319/3 at the Tea break on Day 1. Ollie Pope (48*) and Harry Brook (22*) are at the crease for the visitors. For Pakistan, debutant spinner Zahid Mahmood grabbed 2 wickets while Haris Rauf registered 1 wicket. Earlier, England captain Ben Stokes won the toss & opted to bat first against Pakistan in the 1st Test.