ENGLAND TOUR OF PAKISTAN 2024

Kamran Ghulam's masterclass - a statement of epic proportions

Kamran Ghulam became the 13th Pakistan played to score a ton on Test debut
Kamran Ghulam became the 13th Pakistan played to score a ton on Test debut ©AFP

Kamran Ghulam is perched on Pakistan balcony away from the coaches' table. Just some minutes into his Test debut, he has to be vigilant. Such are the days for Pakistan middle-order batters - their fragile top-order continues to deny them morning cuppas.

Test debuts are supposed to be tough. This is, after all, the ultimate format of the game, where only the best survive. Ghulam should know it better than anyone as he is replacing one such modern-day great of the country who could no longer assert his authority on the game as he once did.

Perhaps, it is not only the fact that Jack Leach has bamboozled Abdullah Shafique with a scorching tweaker that knocked the right-hander's off stump out of the ground that has him scrutinising each ball that is being bowled. Since his call-up to the Pakistan side after a humiliation for the ages that the hosts were put through last week, Ghulam has been mercilessly vilified on the social media. Such are the fan bases and PR campaigns these days.

He knows he cannot put a foot wrong as he sets about to brave a storm.

He may be debuting at home, but the circumstances are far from ideal. His own side has tailored the conditions to limit batters' stay at the crease and he, in some minutes, will be up against relentless England bowlers who have been bulldozing Pakistan line-ups for fun since December 2022 on benign surfaces. Just last week, an inexperienced attack had bowled out Pakistan twice on arguably the flattest wicket that Pakistan produced since the return of Test cricket in the country.

Around the world, players are transitioned into Test cricket, but, in Pakistan, they are thrown into deep sea without a lifejacket. So when Ghulam tapped his bat ferociously after marking the guard with two slips, three close catchers in front of square on the off and a short leg against Leach, he knew he was on his own. Just that - with his side at 19 for two - he also had to drag an entire boat out of murky waters.

He did it with a thumping century.

"There was pressure, but I was desperate to play for Pakistan," Ghulam said. "I kept being selected and then omitted from squads, and all I used to think about was how to take the chance had I been given one. Babar Azam is a legend, and I got a chance because of him. At the back of my mind, I was thinking he is a legend, a very good player. I thought I would give 110% and play with a positive mindset."

Ghulam has been in and out of Pakistan squads since he breached the record for the most runs in a Quaid-e-Azam Trophy edition in 2020-21. Pakistan, just recently, left him out of the squad for the last week's Test after he had carried drinks against Bangladesh. It was the most recent instance of Ghulam being omitted from the squad three years after he was initially called-up on the back of the record-breaking first-class season.

But, the 29-year-old continued to grind it out in the domestic cricket. He has averaged above 55 since the start of the last year in first-class cricket, but came into this contest without the desired red ball practice as the Pakistan Cricket Board, despite being in the middle of the second of three Test series at home this season, are yet to begin a first-class tournament.

In the period between the Bangladesh Tests and this series, Ghulam, along with other Pakistan players, played in a newly established domestic one-day tournament of which's creation and timing continues to divide opinion in the country. Ghulam even used that tournament to establish his credentials by finishing it as the second highest run-getter, with 250 runs coming at a rate of 97.

Ghulam shifted the pressure back on England by launching Leach for a six over his head. That shot was inconceivable after days-long narrative around the pitch. The demons were there in the pitch, mind you, underlined by Ben Stokes' decision to introduce spin from both ends after just five overs into the Test as some balls bounced awkwardly, others turned sharply, and some other scooted along the floor.

But Ghulam's solid technique and temperament helped him overcome the unprecedented challenge. (Have I mentioned that this Test is being played on a recycled pitch?) He absorbed the pressure - that Pakistan had now longed for far too long from their last number four - wearing out the England spinners. Stokes' ever-innovative fields have unsettle the best of his country, but Ghulam was unfazed, tackling Leach and Shoaib Bashir with conviction. He played late and worked the spinners fluently off the front and back foot. He hit his next boundary 49 balls later when Bashir afforded the opportunity with a wide delivery.

When he breached the fifty-run mark, he had to manage testing spells of reverse swing with one of their prime proponents in Stokes bowling from one end. He stuttered. There were plays and misses with the ball staying low and it raised questions whether Stokes had introduced pace to Ghulam a little too late.

"I was restless to play for Pakistan," he replied to a question about the changing nature of the ball and the pitch. "I didn't care about the venue or the team I just wanted to make my debut. I knew I had a lot of hard work behind me. Thankfully that work has paid off for me."

In Saim Ayub, who posted his career-best Test score of 77, Ghulam had a partner who was equally restless to undo the mistakes of the first Test. He had to face the wrath of fans and media over the weekend for a rash shot amidst the Pakistan collapse. Perhaps, a case is there to be made that that wicket sparked the collapse.

The two smiled when the ball bounced awkwardly. They exchanged gazes with each of the Stokes' changes and it helped the two ease off the nerves. The two denied England further inroads for good part of the day as they stitched a firm 149-run stand.

As it happens in Test cricket, tougher phases followed fluent ones and towards the last session of the day, Ghulam, briefly, struggled to connect his shots and there was a reprieve at 79. It brought him back to his disciplined ways.

There can be anxious moments on debut, and that is okay. After all, a cricketer in Pakistan goes through a severe grind to reach here. But, there was believe.

He entered the 90s with successive boundaries and breached into the tripe figures with a thumping four off Joe Root.

"I had been waiting for my chance a long time but I never gave up," he said. "I always believed I would get the opportunity. I played positive cricket, the way I play in first class cricket. I felt like my shots were coming off."

He celebrated it with a loud roar, fist pump, and a sajda. The loud roar, perhaps, released years long pent up anger. With each passing match and series, perhaps, he had started to doubt whether this moment would ever come. The presence of his family in one of the VIP boxes beside the Pakistan dressing room made it sweeter. After all, it is the family that sticks by when nobody is around.

Ghulam is the first Pakistan batter to score a century at debut since 2019. Nobody did it for Pakistan at number four since Saleem Malik back in 1982.

In Test cricket, no.4 is reserved for the best batter in the side. The first morning of the second Multan Test saw someone from Pakistan live up to its reputation after a long, long time.

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